(dark brooding music)
(dramatic music)
- [Narrator] Three young boys take a trip downtown all
by themselves for the very first time.
- The boys say they're going to see a movie,
but they wander all over the place.
- [Narrator] Little
do they know their first unsupervised outing
will also be their last.
The boys don't come home that night,
and no one knows where they could be until two days later
when their bodies are discovered.
- They're naked and piled up in the ditch like cordwood.
- [Narrator] It will take almost 40 years
for investigators to figure out what happened.
Will it be too late for justice to prevail?
(tense music)
- The unsolved ones, we have to stand up.
- And approach these cases in a way outside the box.
- Let the world know those out there
that did commit a murder, you know,
there are people that are coming after you.
- There's just a lot of good people trying
to do the right thing.
- Because it's something that you have
to be passionate about. - Solve this.
Bring some peace to the family, at least. Just doing my job.
(tense music)
(tense brooding music)
- [Narrator] On the night of Sunday, October 16th, 1955,
Malcolm Peterson and Anton Schuessler, Sr. go
to the Jefferson Park Police Station
in Chicago to report their sons missing.
- Sergeant George Murphy is manning the front desk
when the two fathers come in.
They're quite upset,
but Sergeant Murphy does his best to get all the facts.
- [Narrator] Earlier that afternoon,
Robert Peterson, age 14, John Schuessler, age 13,
and Anton Schuessler Jr, age 11,
leave their middle class homes on Chicago's northwest side
and head downtown to see a movie.
They don't come home.
- Even though the boys haven't been gone long enough
to be considered missing,
Sergeant Murphy makes a telephone call
to police headquarters to get the hunt for the boys started.
- [Narrator] When the boys don't turn up that night
or the next day, their parents pray for their safe return.
On Tuesday, October 18th,
Mrs. Peterson goes to two TV stations
to record messages pleading for help
to find the missing boys.
They schedule the messages to air that evening,
but before they do,
the Cook County Sheriff's Office receives a call
that a gruesome discovery has been made
in the Robinson Woods area
of the Cook County Forest Preserves.
(tense music)
- When liquor salesman Victor Livingston goes
to a wooded area west of the city to eat his lunch,
something on the side of the road catches his eye,
three bodies piled on top of each other.
- [Narrator] He rushes to a nearby tavern
to report what he's found.
(tense brooding music)
When they arrive on the scene,
investigators find the bodies of three naked boys lying
on their backs in a two-foot-deep ditch.
- They're smudged with dirt and blood.
The oldest boy appears to have been slashed 14 times
in the head with what appears
to be an ax or a hunting knife.
The other two boys have been struck in the face
with what appears to be the flat part of a knife.
- I don't think anyone is ever prepared
to see a sight like that, three kids dead dumped in a ditch.
The fact that they're naked makes it much more shocking
and raises the question.
Is this a sex crime? Many are convinced it is.
- [Narrator] In spite of the more visible wounds,
marks on the victims' bodies suggest their cause
of death to be strangulation.
- Marks on the victims' necks suggest strangulation
by bare hands in the case of the two youngest boys
and a cord or rope in the case of the oldest.
They've been dead since Sunday night.
- The coroner, Walter E. McCarron,
theorizes about the dirt and marks on the bodies.
- At first, the boys are bound and gagged with adhesive tape
and held captive in a filthy place.
Later, they're dumped in the forest.
- [Narrator] McCarron believes they're transported
to the fores in a vehicle of some sort.
- Marks on the backs of Anton and Robert suggests they
were lying on a rubber mat in the rear of a car.
Anton's back also exhibits burn marks,
which might be made from dragging him across pavement.
- [Narrator] While examining the three bodies,
investigators notice a tire track on the ground.
They call a forensics team to the crime scene.
- Investigators make a plaster cast of a tire track
in the parking area near the ditch
and send it to the crime lab for comparison.
(tense music)
- Surprisingly, the examination of the bodies shows no signs
of molestation,
which is contrary to what the investigators were expecting.
- If it's not a sex crime, what is it?
- [Narrator] Sadly, for all confirmed,
the victims are identified as Robert Peterson,
John Schuessler, and Anton Schuessler Jr,
leaving their families inconsolable.
At the morgue, Anton Schuessler Sr. cries out
and collapses when he sees his sons.
Malcolm Peterson sobs quietly
while identifying his son's body and says,
"We were more like buddies than father and son.
He was a good boy."
Robert Peterson is the oldest child
of Malcolm and Dorothy Peterson.
He has three siblings.
His dad works as a carpenter,
and the family of six lives comfortably in their home
on the northwest side of Chicago.
Robert loves sports, especially baseball.
He plays in the Pony League in nearby Norwood Park.
Robert attends James B. Farnsworth Elementary School
where he's in grade eight.
John and Anton Schuessler Jr. are the only children
of Eleanor and Anton Schuessler Sr.
They live in a brand new bungalow
on the northwest side of Chicago.
Anton Sr. loves his sons more than anything.
He says, "They're my life."
Like their friend Robert,
they attend James B. Farnsworth Elementary School
where John is in grade eight and Anton is in grade six.
All three are good students whose work
is described as average or better.
On Sunday, October 16th, 1955, shortly before 3:00 PM,
John and Anton Schuessler bike
over to their friend Robert's place,
which is about seven blocks away.
- It's the first time their parents are allowing them
to go into downtown Chicago on their own,
and they're excited to take in a movie.
- [Narrator] Chicago is the largest city
in the American Midwest.
Founded in 1830,
it quickly grows into an industrial metropolis.
By the 1950s, factory jobs are leveling off,
and more and more people are moving to the suburbs.
Still, downtown Chicago has a lot to offer,
restaurants, movie theaters, bowling alleys.
It's a vibrant and exciting place to be,
especially for three kids from the northwest side.
- The northwest side is a place a lot of people call home.
A lot of families live there.
It's friendly, safe, and community oriented.
- [Narrator] For many,
there's a general feeling that Chicago in 1955
is a place where the streets are safe
for children to play and explore,
and the parents of John and Anton Schuessler
and Robert Peterson likely feel the same way.
(soft tense music)
- The three friends leave the Peterson house
approximately 3:00 PM.
They have a total of $4 between them,
which is enough to cover the cost of a movie
at the Loop Theatre downtown.
- The film starts at 4:00 PM,
but investigators can't confirm
if the boys actually go there.
- Their first known stop is at the Garland Building
at 111 Wabash Avenue,
which is only a four-minute walk from the Loop Theatre.
Robert Peterson signs in at 6:00 PM in the lobby.
It's possible he's there to use the bathroom.
- [Narrator] Witnesses placed the boys
at the Monte Cristo Bowling Alley at West Montrose Avenue,
sometime between 7:15 and 7:45 PM.
- The witnesses described them
as wearing jeans and baseball jackets.
One guy asks them if they're going to bowl and they answer,
"Not unless you're going to pay for it."
- [Narrator] The manager of the Drake Bowling Lanes,
also on West Montrose Avenue,
remembers seeing the boys at his place around 8:00 PM.
They don't bowl and they only stay a few minutes.
They're also spotted at Garden Bowling Alley
on North Milwaukee Avenue at 8:40 PM.
- The bowling alleys are a fair distance from the theater
and Garland building eight or 10 miles away.
That's too far to walk.
So how are they getting around without money?
- [Narrator] Several witnesses report
seeing the boys hitchhiking.
One even remembers giving them a ride.
- A bus driver remembers dropping the boys off
on Lawrence Avenue at 8:52 PM.
They're later spotted on the corner
of Lawrence and Milwaukee.
Anton is standing with his thumb out
while the other two boys wait
in a doorway several feet away.
- [Narrator] Each witness seems
to place them closer to home.
Lawrence and Milwaukee is only two miles
from Robert's house, but unfortunately,
there are no more sightings of Robert,
John, and Anton Jr. that night.
- Based on their stomach contents,
they are killed between 9:30 and 10:00 PM.
- Their bodies are most likely dumped
in the forest on Tuesday morning,
tossed from a vehicle like sacks of potatoes.
- [Narrator] Even the most seasoned detectives agree
that this is a shocking crime.
- There's no clear reason or motive.
Who would've done this to three innocent boys?
- [Narrator] Coroner Walter McCarron offers up two theories
about the killer.
- Is it the work of a madman or possibly a gang
who abducted the kids for fun
and then became fearful of getting caught?
- [Narrator] Either way, if the murders of Robert, John,
and Anton are the result of a random unmotivated attack,
they could prove very hard to solve.
(dramatic music)
(tense brooding music)
On Sunday, October 16th, 1955, Robert Peterson,
John Schuessler, and Anton Schuessler Jr. leave their homes
on the northwest side to see a movie
at downtown Chicago's Loop Theatre.
- It's the first time their parents are allowing them
to go into downtown Chicago on their own.
- [Narrator] The boys don't come home that night
and seem to vanish without a trace until their bodies
are found naked and lifeless in a forest ditch.
- I don't think anyone is ever prepared
to see a sight like that.
- [Narrator] Their families are devastated.
Investigators believe it's the work of a madman
or possibly a gang,
but the motive for the killing remains unknown,
and there are no obvious suspects.
(tense dramatic music)
On Wednesday, October 19th, 1955,
investigators launch a massive search involving 100 people,
50 of which are members of the military.
- The plan is to search the forest all
around where the three boys were found looking for evidence.
- [Narrator] Anton Schuessler Sr.
and Malcolm Peterson take time off work
to help in a search for clues.
- The team gathers up a vast array of possible clues,
things like a black rubber mat from a car,
fragments of two pairs of blue jeans, a leather glove,
a stained in torn t-shirt, a piece of cotton underwear,
and a man's blood-stained coat.
- Other items sent to the crime lab
include a 12-inch-long piece of rope
and a length of wire about a yard long.
- [Glen] None of these items provide any definite leads.
- [Narrator] On October 24th, 1955,
police commissioner Timothy J. O'Connor
puts together a 50-person unit to handle the case.
(phone rings)
On the same day, the first possible suspect emerges.
- A 55-year-old man who works in a candy store
near the Peterson home walks out of his apartment,
dressed in his best clothing, and vanishes.
He leaves behind all of his belongings and his pet dog.
- [Narrator] To some,
this feels like more than a coincidence.
Investigators spend many hours trying
to track the mysterious man down,
but he is nowhere to be found.
On October 26th, 1955,
police hold five male suspects for further questioning
into the murder of the three boys.
They give the five men lie detector tests.
(tense music)
One of those five men is a 33 year old
named Charles Dahlquist.
A married couple remembers seeing him under a bridge
with Anton Schuessler on July 15th
and are asked to pick him out of a police lineup.
- They give Dahlquist three lie detector tests,
all of which are inconclusive.
- [Narrator] With no positive results
from the lie detector tests,
none of the five men are implicated in the crime,
and they all are let go.
Investigators are also on the hunt for a bushy-haired man
who Robert's father sees talking with youngsters
in a pool hall the night of Saturday, October 22nd.
- The suspect flees when Mr. Peterson tries to question him.
(phone rings)
- [Narrator] The investigation seems to finally heat up
when an old blue car is found abandoned
on the southwest side of Chicago.
(tense music)
- Witnesses recall seeing a car like that
in the Robinson Woods just a few hours
before the discovery of the three bodies.
- Inside the abandoned car are three pairs of blue jeans,
which are what the victims
were wearing the night they disappear.
There is also a white flannel shirt,
which might be a match for Anton's.
- [Narrator] Investigators send the clothing
to the lab for proper analysis.
Unfortunately, the Petersons and the Schuesslers agree
that these clothes do not belong to their children.
A month after the murders, Anton Schuessler Sr. dies
of a heart attack while receiving treatment
for depression brought on by the death of his sons.
(soft tense music) (camera clicks)
- Everyone who knew him or knows the case seems
to agree he died of a broken heart.
- [Narrator] Eleanor Schuessler now grieves the loss
of her entire family and faces economic ruin
as she's left without income
and a significant mortgage to pay.
The "Chicago Tribune" encourages readers
to send contributions.
With the case seemingly at a standstill,
Mrs. Schuessler and the Petersons allow the bodies
of their sons to be exhumed.
- There could be any number of reasons to exhume a body,
new technologies, new techniques,
or just a feeling that something
might've been missed the first time.
In this case,
the main objective is to take scrapings from the toenails
and fingernails to find more traces
of the rare metal found during the original autopsy.
A good enough sample could lead
to the plant or factory where the killer works.
- [Narrator] The exhumation pays off
when tiny grains of that metal are revealed.
- The examiner also finds traces of a powerful insecticide
and bone meal in the wounds on Robert's scalp.
This could suggest the weapon is something
like a handheld gardening rake.
The strangest revelation is the evidence
of hay in the boys' lungs.
- [Narrator] How these things go together is unclear,
but an intensive search of metalworking establishments,
as well as golf courses, greenhouses, florist shops,
and parks within a 400-square-mile area yields nothing.
- These things could be found
in a fertilizer used by any private homeowner.
- [Narrator] None of it leads to a viable suspect.
The case goes cold.
(dramatic music)
The naked lifeless bodies of Robert Peterson,
John Schuessler, and Anton Schuessler Jr.
are found in a forest ditch on the outskirts of Chicago.
- I don't think anyone is ever prepared
to see a sight like that.
- [Narrator] Their families are devastated.
Months of investigation by a task force
that includes 50 people yield many clues
but no solid leads or suspects.
The grieving families give permission for the bodies
to be exhumed and examined for further evidence.
- There could be any number of reasons to exhume a body,
new technologies, new techniques,
or just a feeling that something
might've been missed the first time.
In this case,
the main objective is to take scrapings from the toenails
and fingernails to find more traces
of the rare metal found during the original autopsy.
A good enough sample could lead
to the plant or factory where the killer works.
- [Narrator] They find traces of rare metal, pesticide,
bone meal, and hay in the boys' lungs.
None of it leads to a viable suspect. The case goes cold.
It's now one year after the murders,
and investigators are disappointed
that they still have no solid leads.
(soft tense music)
The special investigative unit welcomes a new leader,
Lieutenant Joseph Morris, the third to hold the reins
since the investigation began.
- He is determined to solve the case.
He says, "It may take a month, a year,
five years, but it will be solved."
- [Narrator] In the meantime,
all the stress and pressure is taking its toll.
While working on the case,
three members of the special investigative unit
suffer heart attacks.
- Stress can cause serious health problems,
including heart attacks.
- [Narrator] The three officers all recover
but are reassigned to other less stressful cases.
(tense music)
It's now two years since the murders,
and investigators are still striving to get justice
for the families and their murdered sons.
The Petersons hold a night of devotion in their home.
Eleanor Schuessler has remarried and is now Eleanor Kujawa.
She still grieves for her sons.
She says, "I'm always hoping they find who did it.
That's one of the things I live for."
- But the hopes seem to get slimmer as the time passes.
- [Narrator] Three years later, since the murders,
there have been no significant developments.
The Crime Detection Institute is a civic group in Chicago.
The Crime Detection Institute has been offering a $100,00
for any information that can lead them to the killer.
Today they announced they're withdrawing that reward.
The reason, they say that the crimes appear
now to be insoluble.
In 1960, a ray of hope breaks through.
While digging through old files,
detectives noticed something intriguing
from the days leading up to the murders.
- On October 8th, 1955, Robert and John,
like everyone else in their class, fill out a questionnaire.
Among the many questions is the usual one.
Do you know anybody who is trying to hurt you?
- [Narrator] Stranger than the question itself
are the answers that Robert and John give.
They both say yes.
- John and Robert are the only kids in their class
who answer yes to that question,
and eight days later, they're dead.
That's an unbelievable coincidence.
(tense dramatic music)
- [Narrator] The school informs police
about the unusual yes answers,
and investigators attempt to question all
of John and Robert's classmates.
- The issue with questioning 13 and 14 year olds
is that their parents must be present in the room.
Teenagers don't always want to tell the whole truth
in front of their parents.
Some parents might even advise them not to get involved.
- [Narrator] Investigators question 50 students,
but no useful information is collected.
- Now, five years later, all those kids are adults.
They might be more willing to talk.
- [Narrator] The hunch pays off as many former classmates
recall Robert and John being afraid of someone.
Detectives are convinced that those boys knew their killer
or killers and, more importantly,
that the killer is still on the northwest side of Chicago.
- Five years is a long time to keep an investigation alive,
but thanks to the new information,
the mystery of who killed Robert Peterson
and John and Anton Schuessler
could finally be on the verge of being solved.
(dramatic music)
(tense music)
- [Narrator] For five years,
there have been no serious suspects in the murders
of Robert Peterson, age 14, John Schuessler, age 13,
and Anton Schuessler Jr, age 11.
Police believe that the two oldest boys
may know they're killer. - On October 8th, 1955,
Robert and John fill out a questionnaire.
Among the many questions is the usual one.
Do you know anybody who is trying to hurt you?
- [Narrator] Stranger than the question itself
are the answers that Robert and John give.
They both say yes.
- John and Robert are the only kids in their class
who answer yes to that question.
They question 50 former classmates and friends
in the hope of figuring out who it is.
- [Narrator] Unfortunately,
after weeks and months of further investigation,
all new leads come to nothing.
In 1966, Sergeant George Murphy,
the officer at the front desk
when the boys were reported missing,
the one who takes the call
that gets the entire investigation started,
retires after 37 years on the force.
Again, the case files gather dust,
but while working on another murder case,
that of wealthy stable owner George Jayne,
state police officer Lieutenant David Hamm goes
through a box of reports.
- The box is full of detailed reports
on prime suspect Silas Jayne,
who is George's brother and his associates,
one of whom is a guy named Kenneth Hansen.
- [Narrator] Kenneth Hansen works for Silas Jayne
at Idle Hours Stables,
and the two are reputed to have a very close relationship.
- The weird thing is that,
amongst all the reports about Silas Jayne,
there are a few that reference the 1955 murders
of Robert Peterson, John Schuessler,
and Anton Schuessler Jr.
- [Narrator] Why they're in there isn't clear,
but after carefully reading all of the reports,
Lieutenant Hamm starts to suspect
that the Idle Hours Stables is where the boys were killed.
On February 8th, 1971,
Lieutenant Hamm brings in Kenneth Hansen for questioning.
Kenneth refuses to talk about George Jayne,
so Lieutenant Hamm takes another approach.
- He asks Kenneth about himself,
his time in the Army and his experience
in the horse business.
Surprisingly, Kenneth opens up and talks.
- [Narrator] He learns that Kenneth
is from the Chicago's northwest side
and that he has a long history of working with horses,
including at Idle Hours Stables in 1955.
- Kenneth has no idea that Lieutenant Hamm
is interested in the murders of the three boys.
He thinks it's all about the George Jayne murder.
He talks openly about everything except George Jayne.
- [Narrator] Police think there is a connection
to the George Jayne murder case.
Playing a game of cat and mouse,
Lieutenant Hamm is careful not to tip his hand
as he gathers as much information as he can
that could connect Kenneth to the murders of the three boys.
- He does the good job, but unfortunately,
there's not enough to prove anything.
- [Narrator] Ultimately,
Silas Jayne and a couple of other men
are convicted of the murder of George Jayne,
which is said to have been the culmination
of a bitter feud between the two brothers
over competing interests in the show horse industry.
All charges against Kenneth Hansen are dropped.
As for the murders of the three kids in 1955,
Lieutenant Hamm packs the box up, puts it back in storage,
and the case goes cold again.
On April 9th, 1976, Captain Patrick J. Deeley,
head of the investigation until his retirement in 1970,
dies at 69.
10 years later and more than 30 years
after the murders of her only sons,
Eleanor Schuessler Kujawa dies
and is buried beside them in a River Grove cemetery.
While investigating a series of barn burnings
and horse killings believed to be part of an insurance scam,
agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms,
and Explosives talk to an informant
named William Red Wemette.
Red isn't much help until he unexpectedly tells them
that Kenneth Hansen murdered Robert Peterson,
John Schuessler, and Anton Schuessler Jr.
- Anyone who deals with informants
can tell you they don't always tell the whole truth.
- [Narrator] According to Red,
after being in an intimate relationship in the 1960s,
Kenneth tells him about the murders
during an afternoon of drinking in 1968.
(dramatic music)
- He says he's having sex with one boy
when Robert Peterson confronts him
and threatens to tell his parents.
Fearing exposure, he kills them.
- [Narrator] Red goes on to say
that he's not the only one to hear that story.
- Red seems reliable because he's helped them before,
but investigators need more details about this.
- [Narrator] In 1968,
Kenneth has another young lover named Roger Spry,
and Roger knows all about it.
Coincidentally, Roger Spry's name has already come up
during their investigation,
and they suspect him of burning a barn in 1970.
- The only problem is that no one knows where Roger is now.
However, there's no statute of limitations on arson,
so they issue a warrant for his arrest and wait.
(tense dramatic music)
- [Narrator] In the summer of 1993,
Roger Spry is arrested in a tavern brawl in Arizona
and charged with disorderly conduct.
Investigators fly out to Arizona to question him
about Kenneth Hansen and the murder
of the three boys in 1955.
Roger confirms everything.
When asked about the barn arson in 1970,
Roger admits that he did it for Kenneth Hansen.
As the investigation begins to close in on him,
Kenneth Hansen begins to get nervous.
- He actually asks his neighbor
if police are watching his house.
Not a very normal thing to do.
He packs a suitcase and prepares to leave town.
- [Narrator] Investigators need to decide
if they have enough evidence to prove Kenneth Hansen
is guilty of a crime that took place almost 40 years ago.
If they don't, the murders could remain unsolved forever.
(dramatic music)
(tense dramatic music)
Police believe that Kenneth Hansen
is the man who killed Robert Peterson,
John Schuessler, and Anton Schuessler, Jr. in 1955.
A trusted informant describes Kenneth Hansen's confession
to the murders.
- He says he's having sex with one boy
when Robert Peterson confronts him
and threatens to tell his parents.
Fearing exposure, he kills them.
- [Narrator] Red goes on to say that he's
not the only one to hear that story.
In 1968, Kenneth has another young lover named Roger Spry,
and Roger knows all about it.
Coincidentally, Roger Spry's name
has already come up during their investigation.
In the summer of 1993,
Roger Spry is arrested in a tavern brawl in Arizona.
Investigators fly out to question him about Kenneth Hansen
and the murder of the three boys in 1955.
Roger confirms everything.
When asked about the barn arson in 1970,
Roger admits that he did it for Kenneth Hansen.
(tense dramatic music)
Police arrest 61-year-old Kenneth Hansen
and charge him with arson for burning a stable in 1970.
(phone rings)
The arrest triggers phone calls from people claiming
that Hansen picked them up while hitchhiking
and molested them.
The details sound all too plausible in relation
to what happened to the three boys in 1955.
(tense music)
Hansen says he fantasizes about young boys.
- During questioning, he admits that he's had sex
with as many as 1,000 boys since the 1950s.
- [Narrator] Investigators theorize that,
on the night of October 16th, 1955,
Kenneth sees the three boys and pulls over.
He calls them over to his car.
He asks the boys where they are headed.
Kenneth offers a ride.
- Kenneth lives nearby in the 5000 block
of North Claremont Avenue, so it makes sense,
and he freely admits to regularly picking up boys for sex.
- [Narrator] This wasn't the boys' first time hitchhiking,
so they agreed.
After entering the car, the boys were never seen again.
With the three boys now in the car,
he drives them to the Idle Hours Stable.
(dramatic music)
- He tries to pay the boys to perform a sex act,
but when they refuse, he becomes violent and murders them.
- [Narrator] Police place Hansen under arrest
for the murders.
In early September 1995, the trial of Kenneth Hansen begins.
- The prosecution paints a picture of a man
who has sex with a lot of young boys.
- [Narrator] Roger Spry is a star witness.
- He meets Hansen when he's 11,
and Hansen offers him a place to stay
in exchange for work.
While living with Hansen his wife and two children,
Roger is molested by Hansen.
This continues for seven years.
- [Narrator] When Roger is 15,
Hansen gets drunk and describes the events
at the Idle Hours Stable on the night of October 16th, 1955.
- Hansen's fantasy, according to Roger,
is to have sex with two boys at once.
He sends Robert away to brush the horses
so he can be alone with the two younger boys.
He begins molesting John and Anton Jr,
but Robert unexpectedly returns and catches him in the act.
Kenneth grabs Robert Peterson in a choke hold
and says he accidentally chokes him to death.
Stating he had no choice but to kill the other two kids,
he murders them as well.
- [Narrator] Roger testifies that Hansen referred
to the incident one more time.
- Hansen catches Roger pickpocketing some money
that should go to the stable, so he says,
"Roger, you keep it up and you're going
to end up just like that Peterson kid."
- [Narrator] The prosecution calls another powerful witness,
Herb Hollatz, one of the many people
to contact police when Hansen is first arrested.
- Herb Hollatz is the son of a Chicago police officer.
He testifies that he's been keeping Hansen's secret
for 40 years.
- [Narrator] Herb says he's known
about Kenneth killing those boys
since one week after the murders.
- The reason he keeps quiet is that he
is having a homosexual relationship with Hansen,
and he doesn't want his father or anyone else to find out.
- A hard-nosed cop in 1955 might not take that news well.
- [Narrator] But there's another more compelling reason
for young Herb to keep quiet.
- Hansen makes Herb swear that he won't tell anyone
or his brother will kill him.
- Kenneth's brother is a known enforcer for the mob.
That scares Herb badly. - A few months later,
Herb moves to Arizona and tries to forget.
When he sees news of Hansen's arrest,
he calls his daughter to confess.
- It's Herb's daughter who informs the police.
- Herb is so scared of Kenneth's brother that,
even after all these years,
he refuses to testify against Kenneth
unless authorities prove to him
that Kenneth's brother is dead.
(tense music)
- [Narrator] On September 13th, 1995,
after an hour and 40 minutes of deliberation,
the jury finds Kenneth Hansen guilty
of three counts of first degree murder.
He's sentenced to concurrent prison terms
between 200 and 300 years.
On May 18th, 2000,
the Illinois Appellate Court overturns the 1995 conviction.
- They determined that the jury
should not have heard evidence
that Hansen cruised the streets picking up boys
for sexual relations. - On August 12th, 2002,
the retrial of Kenneth Hansen begins.
- The defense does their best, but, once again,
Hansen is found guilty and sentenced to 200 to 300 years.
- [Narrator] Hansen tries to appeal one more time
in 2004 but is denied.
- There's a sense of relief to finally bring justice
and closure to the families of the victims.
Unfortunately, many of them did not live to see it,
but it's important for those who did.
- Sadly, I think this case changed our world a little bit
or at least our perception of it.
We used to think that the streets were safe for children
and that truly horrible things cannot happen
to good kids from good homes.
Now we know that isn't true.
- The truth is that this case was almost unsolved.
If it wasn't for the hard work and perseverance
of the many investigators, it might still be.
- [Narrator] On September 12th, 2007,
Kenneth Hansen dies in a correctional center
in Pontiac, Illinois,
a small consolation to the families that were so devastated
in the murders of Robert, John, and Anton Jr.
(dramatic music)