The Murders at Starved Rock

As "The Murders at Starved Rock" (2021 release; 3 episodes of 58 min each) opens with Episode 1 "The Bogeyman", we are at the Illinois state park called Starved Rock, and we learn that three Chicago women were brutally murdered there on March 16, 1960, sending shockwaves to the surrounding communities. We then get to know David Racugglia, a native from nearby Lasalle, IL, whose father was the prosecutor in the ensuing murder trial and who has been haunted by this case for decades. "I just want to get to the truth", he comments... At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1 of this TV documentary mini-series.

Couple of comments: this is the directing debut of Emmy-winning editor Jody McVeigh-Schultz ("McMillion$"). In this mini-series, he reassesses what happened now over 60 years ago. These murders shocked the surrounding communities, and in fact the nation, and the pressure to find the killer was immense on all parties involved (local and state authorities). Did they get the right man? That is the crux of this mini-series. McVeigh-Schultz tracks down many of the people involved, also benefiting from an earlier attempt (in 2005) by David Raccuglia in making his own documentary of it all. Just based on Episode 1, which I watched the other night, it feels like the director is approaching this even-handedly, and we are to make up our own minds whether the suspect (Chester Weger, a dishwasher at the Starved Rock Lodge) is or isn't the murderer. But what really is striking is watching the archive footage (mostly TV news clips) of that era, with white men literally controlling everything, which now feeling eerily strange and completely out of touch with today (of course it was 60 years ago after all).

"The Murders at Starved Rock" recently premiered on HBO Max, and is now available on HBO On Demand and HBO Max (where I caught it). I plan on seeing Episodes 2 and 3 very soon. I may have to revise my original rating of 6 stars, depending on how these remaining episodes play out. If you like true-crime documentaries, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

Compelling documentary which should really have benefited from less information about the documentary maker. Should have been half as long too, as a result there is a lot of repitition. Clear wrongful conviction, manufactured and biased evidence. Understandably limited footage but it does drag on. Better editing would have improved the documentary.

The Murders at Starved Rock is the worst of the "personal history murder mystery genre". In this documentary, a lost former hair dresser attempts to investigate a 1960s murder in his hometown, that his father prosecuted the murderer for. The filmmaker combines endless hearsay and conspiracy theories to cast doubt on the case. Unfortunately, the story is not really about the murder, rather it is about a lost son trying to prove to his accomplished father that he is a man of substance. This is a story that could have been resolved in therapy. The director's hair cuts, facial hair, and eyewear are funniest and best part of this series.

This is one of those experiences that you wish you had seen what actually happened to these three innocent middle aged mothers at Starved Rock so that you could come forward and find the murderer(s) who are guilty of the crime. The unknown always provides for a good mystery story that requires solving. It took.

It took over 40 years to solve the Golden State Killer, known by various other names such as the Visalia Ransacker, East Area Rapist, Night Stalker, and the Original Night Stalker, but eventually after decades of clues and hundreds if not thousands of suspects Joseph James DeAngelo was finally arrested, convicted and imprisoned.

With any luck this documentary may refresh someone's memory or bring forward some actual evidence that will lead to the capture and conviction of the murderer(s) at Starved Rock.

I give this documentary a well deserved 8 out of 10 IMDb rating. I hope they find the SOB(s).

This doc fell into the speculative true crime genre. While an interesting case, the documenter had motives and most of the interviews dealt with opinions not facts.