JOLIET, Ill. — *The above video was first aired Jun 29, 2021.
A Minnesota man charged in the stabbing death of a 15-year-old suburban Chicago girl more than half a century ago has died, authorities said.
Barry Lee Whelpley, 79, was found unresponsive early Friday in his cell at the Will County Jail in Joliet. He was transported to a Joliet hospital where he was pronounced dead, Deputy Chief Dan Jungles of the Will County Sheriff’s Office said.
Authorities do not suspect foul play, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald reported. An autopsy was scheduled for Saturday.
Whelpley was arrested in Mounds View in 2021 and later charged with first-degree murder and aggravated criminal sexual assault in the 1972 death of Julie Ann Hanson of Naperville, Illinois. DNA evidence linked him to the case.
Hanson disappeared July 7, 1972, while riding her bicycle to her brother’s baseball game. Her body was discovered a day later in a field, stabbed 36 times.
The killing remained unsolved for decades, with a breakthrough in the case finally coming through technological advancements in DNA and genetic genealogy analysis, police said.
From that came the evidence that pointed to Whelpley, a 1964 graduate of Naperville High School who lived about a mile from the girl’s house when she was killed.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.