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A man accused of raping and murdering a teenage girl “Kristina Wesselman” 30 years ago was nabbed after he submitted DNA for a recent domestic violence conviction and it matched genetic material taken from the 1985 crime scene, authorities revealed Monday.
Michael Jones could face life in prison without parole if convicted on charges of murder and aggravated criminal sexual assault after DNA evidence recently linked him to the crime scene where Wesselman’s body was found, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a press conference Monday.
More details surrounding Jones’ criminal history were also revealed Monday. Berlin said Jones pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 27-year-old woman in his parent’s basement in Schiller Park in 1977 after he followed her on her bike in Chicago, rammed his vehicle into her bike and then bound the victim’s wrists, covered the woman’s head with a wool cap and dragged her into his car, Berlin said.
Berlin said he served seven years in prison for the rape and was on parole when he is accused of attacking Wesselman during the afternoon hours on July 21, 1985, as the Glenbard South High School sophomore walked through a path in a field from the Jewel-Osco near Butterfield and Route 53 back to her home on Cypress Drive in unincorporated Glen Ellyn.
“She never made it home that afternoon,” Berlin said.
Wesselman’s partially-clothed body was found the next morning by police under two trees near the path. A half-eaten candy bar and a soda pop was found in a bag nearby. Police said she was raped and stabbed eight times.
Jones on July 2, 2015, entered a guilty plea to a charge of aggravated domestic battery in Champaign County. Since it was felony, Jones was required to submit a DNA evidence. That sample was entered into a national database.
“Recently, on September 10, 2015, investigators from the sheriff’s office were informed there was a hit between that DNA profile from the victim and an offender in the database and that offender was Michael Jones,” Berlin said.
A search warrant was issued on Sept. 18 and required Jones to submit a buccal swab. That was submitted to the crime lab and Berlin said it further linked Jones to the rape of Wesselman. Wessleman was arrested Friday and has remained in custody at the DuPage County Jail.
“Three decades have passed since Kristy Wesselman was brutally murdered and sexually assaulted,” Berlin said. “Her family and friends have waited a long time for justice in this senseless murder. Kristy was a beautiful young girl with an extremely promising future in front of her until that horrible afternoon when the defendant, Michael Jones allegedly took her life. No amount of time can heal the wounds that to this day are as fresh as they were more than thirty years ago. It is my sincerest hope that with today’s charges the healing process will begin for Kristy’s family and friends.”
Agencies/Canadajournal
Sure glad he was released after the first torture. Those bad pot heads should be in jail instead.
I was thinking the exact same thing. If that horror of a man had not been released, that poor girl, and who knows who else he may have assaulted or murdered, would’ve been alive and well. How could the parole board let him out, after knowing the details of the crime he committed against the 27 year-old woman? Idiots.