|
Wrongly Convicted Database Record
|
Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
4.75 |
Year Crime: |
1957 |
Year Convicted: |
2012 |
Year Cleared: |
2016 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Illinois |
County or Region of Crime: |
DeKalb |
City of Crime: |
Sycamore |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Jack McCullough was 72 when he was wrongly convicted of murder on September 12, 2012 in the cold-case abduction of 7-year-old Maria Ridulph in Sycamore, Illinois on the evening of December 3, 1957 and her murder. Ridulph's body was found five months later in 1958. At the time of Ridulph's murder McCullough was 18 and living in Sycamore. McCullough was questioned by police, and he told them that on the evening of Ridulph's disappearance he was in Rockford, Illinois. Fifty-four years later, McCullough, who had moved to Washington state, was charged in 2011 for Ridulph's murder and extradicted to Illinois. McCullough's prosecution was based on circumstantial evidence that included alleged admissions he had made that suggested he was involved -- but he did not confess and adamantly denied he abducted and killed Ridulph. After McCullough's conviction by Kane County Associate Judge James Hallock following a bench trial, he was sentenced to life in prison. DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack took office in 2013, and he initially opposed McCullough's direct appeal of his conviction. However, when Schmack began looking into the case, including police reports from 1957 and ’58 about the case that Judge Hallock had excluded from McCullough's trial, Schmack began having doubts. He reopened McCullough's case, and the investigation discovered the new evidence of phone records that corroborated McCullough's alibi that at the exact time Maria Ridulph was abducted in Sycamore he was 42 miles away in Rockford. Schmack publicly proclaimed that McCullough was factually innocent and had been wrongly convicted. On April 15, 2015 DeKalb County Judge William Brady granted a motion by DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack to vacate Jack McCullough's conviction based on evidence he is actually innocent not considered by Judge Hallock in finding him guilty. Judge Brady ordered McCullough's release on bond, and two hours later he was released from the DeKalb County Jail. On April 22, 2016 Judge Brady granted a motion by the State's Attorney's Office to dismiss the murder charge against McCullough. On April 14, 2017 a judge issued the 77-year-old McCullough a certificate of innocence, which enables him to file a wrongful imprisonment compensation lawsuit with the State of Illinois. McCullough filed a claim with the State of Illinois for about $85,000 compensation. McCullough filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Sycamore and two Sycamore Police Department officers. On November 13, 2017 it was announced that McCullough and the city agreed to settle the lawsuit for $350,000. McCullough was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland." |
Conviction Caused By: |
|
Innocence Proved By: |
"On April 15, 2015 DeKalb County Judge William Brady granted a motion by DeKalb County State's Attorney Richard Schmack to vacate Jack McCullough's conviction based on evidence he is actually innocent not considered by Judge Hallock in finding him guilty. Judge Brady ordered McCullough's release on bond, and two hours later he was released from the DeKalb County Jail. On April 22, 2016 Judge Brady granted a motion by the State's Attorney's Office to dismiss the murder charge against McCullough." |
Defendant Aided By: |
|
Compensation Awarded: |
"$435,000 total. $85,000 State of Illinois, 2017) and $350,000 (City of Sycamore, Nov. 2017)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
|
Age When Imprisoned: |
71 |
Age When Released: |
76 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
"Charges dismissed against Jack McCullough in '57 slaying of Sycamore girl, By Clifford Ward (Staff), Chicago Tribune, April 22, 2016" |
Information Location 1: |
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-jack-mccullough-1957-sycamore-murder-hearing-20160422-story.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Jack McCullough freed after conviction vacated in '57 Sycamore murder, By Clifford Ward (Staff), Chicago Tribune, April 15, 2016" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-sycamore-cold-case-jack-mccullough-released-20160415-story.html |
Information Source 3: |
"Schmack -- Jack McCullough falsely convicted in 1957 Maria Ridulph murder, By Brett Rowland and Katie Smith, Daily Chronicle, March 25, 2016" |
Information Location 3: |
http://www.daily-chronicle.com/2016/03/25/schmack-jack-mccullough-falsely-convicted-in-1957-maria-ridulph-murder/a3whmbm/ |
Information Source 4: |
"77-year-old Irishman found wrongfully convicted in America's oldest cold case, By James Wilson, IrishCentral.com, April 15, 2017" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/irish-pensioner-s-conviction-overturned-in-america-s-oldest-cold-case |
Information Source 5: |
"McCullough Drops Lawsuit Against Sycamore in $350K Settlement Deal, By Scott Zak (WLBK), WSPYnews.com, November 13, 2017" |
Information Location 5: |
http://www.wspynews.com/news/local/mccullough-drops-lawsuit-against-sycamore-in-k-settlement-deal/article_622c046e-c8ed-11e7-8e47-9f2e15398595.html |
Book About Case: |
|
Book Information: |
|
Book About Case (2): |
|
Book Information (2): |
|
Movie About Case: |
|
Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org