By Michael Tarm
Associated Press
SYCAMORE, Ill. — Attorneys for a former Washington state police officer accused of killing an Illinois girl in 1957 are preparing to make their final pleas in one of the oldest cold-case murders to ever go to trial.
Closing arguments are expected Friday in the bench trial of 72-year-old Jack McCullough.
He’s accused of kidnapping 7-year-old Maria Ridulph as she played outside in Sycamore, a farming community about 60 miles west of Chicago. Her body was found in a forest about 120 miles away.
McCullough, a teenager at the time, lived a few blocks from Maria’s home.
Her death horrified the community and unsettled parents nationwide. Even then-President Dwight Eisenhower asked for case updates.
Testimony included descriptions of a deathbed accusation from McCullough’s mother that her son committed the crime. McCullough didn’t testify.