Man wrongly convicted in ’57 killing declared innocent

SYCAMORE, Ill. — Former Sycamore resident Jack McCullough was granted a certificate of innocence Wednesday in connection with the 1957 slaying of a local girl, but the ruling may not have settled questions about perhaps the most enduring crime story in DeKalb County history.

Judge William Brady ruled McCullough had presented enough evidence at a hearing to earn the certificate. McCullough, 77, had been tried and convicted of the crime, but the conviction later was vacated and the charges were dropped. The case remains unsolved.

McCullough testified last week the certificate would help prove he’s not the “monster” who abducted 7-year-old Maria Ridulph on the night of Dec. 3, 1957, and later killed her.

The certificate will entitle McCullough to claim a monetary award granted to people deemed wrongfully imprisoned. But it didn’t change the mind of Maria’s sister, Pat Quinn, who was in the audience to hear the judge’s ruling.

“Do I feel Jack McCullough killed my sister? Yes, I do,” Quinn said afterward.

McCullough was not present for the ruling, having returned to his Seattlearea home after testifying last week.

He was a retiree working as a security guard when police arrested him in 2011 and charged him with killing Maria more than a halfcentury before. He was convicted at a 2012 bench trial, and an appeals court affirmed the guilty finding.

In 2016, he was serving a life sentence when then-State’s Attorney Richard Schmack said he thought McCullough had been wrongly convicted. That sparked a series of court actions that led to McCullough’s conviction being vacated and Schmack dropping the charges in April 2016.