Could the Starved Rock Killer Finally Receive a Pardon?

Illinois is set to consider whether Chester Weger, convicted for the 1960 murders of three women at Starved Rock State Park, should receive a posthumous pardon. Weger was convicted the year after investigators arrested him for the death of Lillian Oetting, and he maintained his innocence until his death in June 2025, just after a county judge rejected his latest bid to overturn the conviction. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board will review the case on October 6 and, if it forwards a recommendation, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker would make the final decision. Weger’s attorneys cite newly examined DNA evidence and argue coercion during confession, highlighting a hair found on a victim’s finger that did not match anyone connected to the case.