Cold Case: Mary Jane Reed & Stanley Skridla

[DeathHand]

Back on June 25, 1948 an 18 year old teenager and her 27 year old lover went to a local tavern to party.

They then went to a local "lover's lane" in the man's car when the tavern closed. But neither returned home.

The next day the body of the male was found, dead with 5 gunshots.

The young lady wasn't for another 4 days. She too, had been shot dead. Her lover's car was found close by.

Local police were unable to solve the case or present any potential suspects.

Soon afterwards, hearsay surfaced about the young lady having just recently ended an extra-marital affair with the local Sheriff.

The male victim was a WW2 vet who had survived the Pearl Harbour attack and fought with the US invasion into Guam during the Pacific War.

This story came to light in 2005-2013 when a brother of the murdered teenager sought to have his sister's remains exhumed almost 70 years after her murder.

He and others smelled foul play and a cover up by both the police department and the coroner.

Images coming in the next several posts along with the story as written by others :).

[DeathHand]

Investigative Case Review

"That on Friday June 25, 1948 Mary Jane Reed, 17, of Oregon Illinois, failed to return from a date she had the night before.

That her body was found four days later (Tuesday, June 29 at 9:00 am) in the west-side ditch of Devil’s Backbone road ¼ mile west of Oregon and south
of Pines Rd. approximately 100 feet. (In 1948 Devil’s Backbone Rd. was known as “Silica Road”).

Stanley Skridla

That her companion on the night she disappeared, Stan Skridla, 28, Rockford, was found murdered at 6:20 am on June 25, 1948 on the south-side ditch of County Farm Road, approximately 300 yards east of Il. Rt. 2.

That County Farm road is presently and was in 1948, 1/8 mile directly south of the Stenhouse, Oregon, Il.


The Stenhouse restaurant & tavern

That the Stenhouse was a popular restaurant/tavern patronized by local officials and area residents in 1948, where poker and craps games took place in a hidden basement room.

Stanley Skridla’s cause of death

That it was reported, Stanley Skridla had been shot five times, once in the chest and four times in the groin/genital area.

Skridla’s car

That his car was found the following day, just off of the north west intersection of Pine’s road and Rt. 2, directly across the street from the Stenhouse restaurant and tavern.

The railroad tracks

That the Burlington Northern railroad tracks in 1948 and currently, run East & West approximately 200 yards south of the Stenhouse.

That the same railroad tracks run 50 feet north of the discovered location of Mary Jane Reed’s body.

That the same railroad tracks run approximately 300 yards north of the discovered location of Stanley Skridla’s body."

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Witness statements 1948 – 2010
RE: Alexander’s Log Cabin Inn

"That witnesses stated prior to arriving at the Stenhouse Mary Jane Reed and Stanley Skridla patronized Alexander’s Log Cabin Inn (A small bar just east of the Rock River, approximately 6 blocks and on the north side of rt. 64.) around 10:30 pm.

That an eye witness who was present at the Log Cabin Inn that night stated, an out of uniform Ogle County Deputy Sheriff who was commonly known to be having an on-again-off-again affair with Mary Jane Reed at the time, was present and standing at the end of the patron’s side of the bar as Reed and Skridla arrived.

Documents

That it is documented the deputy sheriff that the witness identified, as being at the Log Cabin that night, slapped Mary Jane Reed around the evening before in front of her home because she refused to go to the “Club House” with him.

2005 criminal profiler opinion

That in 2005 a criminal profiler who had studied the circumstances and known facts surrounding the Reed-Skridla murders, stated that he believed the person who murdered the couple likely had extensive familiarity with the local Burlington Central rail road tracks.
That the profiler further stated the offender likely had knowledge of the 1948 train frequency schedules. (The Burlington Central Railroad over the years has been renamed the Burlington Northern Railroad.)

Public records

That it has been documented via a public records search that the Ogle County Deputy Sheriff identified by the witness at Alexander’s Log Cabin Inn on Thursday June 24 did in fact receive his first social security card prior to 1951 and it was issued to him while working for the Burlington Central rail road.

The cabin

That it has been documented and stated by witnesses that the deputy sheriff identified at the Alexander’s Inn on the evening of June 24, 1948, at that time owned a cabin on the Rock River ¼ mile south of County Farm Rd. aka Lovers lane off Il. Rt 2 and approximately ½ mile south of the Burlington Northern rail road tracks.

That the said cabin, was small and commonly referred to as the “Club House.”

That the deputy used the cabin as a retreat for him to fish, smoke cigars and play cards with a select few.

That an existing document states the deputy wanted to keep the location of his cabin a secret."

[DeathHand]

Interviews with 3 former Ogle County Sheriffs

"That during this 11year investigation a former Ogle County Sheriff stated to two witnesses, that it was known to him that the deputy the witness identified back in 1948 at the Alexander’s Log Cabin was in fact the offender who killed Mary Jane Reed and Stanley Skridla.

That this former sheriff during this 11 year investigation stated that it was known by him that the deputy the witness identified in 1948 at Alexander’s Log Cabin in 1948 was asked by a superior where his revolver was the morning after the murders, to which he replied, he had sold it at a tavern the night before.

That the former sheriff during this 11 year investigation further stated, that it was known by him that in 1948 Mary Jane Reed and the Ogle County deputy identified at Alexander’s tavern were involved in a sexual relationship.

That this former Ogle County sheriff told this investigation, that while it was widespread and common knowledge that the above captioned 1948 deputy committed these crimes, this investigation should keep that information hush because there were still too many people alive it could hurt.

That a second meeting was held with this Ogle County sheriff at a later date whereby an F.O.I. was presented to him allowing this investigation to view the 1948 Ogle County sheriff’s case file on the murders.

That at this second meeting the same sheriff entered the room where the parties were seated and threw the voluminous case file at the victim’s advocate, in an intimidating manner, while stating, “if you keep fucking around with this you are going to end up getting us all sued!”

That the voluminous case file struck the advocate in the chest and stomach area of his body, as its contents flew about the room and the table before him.

2ND former Ogle County Sheriff

That during this 11year investigation a 2nd former Ogle County Sheriff stated, that our inquiry should find a specific Chicago Newspaper article, from 1948, for answers about the 1948 Ogle County Sheriff’s investigation into this double homicide.

That said article was found in the Thursday July 1, 1948 Chicago Tribune edition, and states as follows: “Sheriff Joseph Maas, who has little to say about the case throughout the six days of *DESULTORY investigation, said today, in response to questions, that he ‘knew nothing about the diary.’ Which aroused considerable comment, that he would make no move to get it, that no one was then under arrest and he indicated little hope any one soon would be.”

[DeathHand]

3rd former Ogle County Sheriff

"That during this 11 year investigation a 3rd former Ogle County sheriff was interviewed on more than three occasions by this investigation.

That on each occasion this former Ogle County sheriff produced a large accordion organizer full of pertinent documents relative to this 1948 crime that he had taken from the Ogle County sheriff’s office when he had left office over 10 years prior.

That after being allowed to view most of these documents this investigation determined that said documents were originals and were not contained within the current Ogle County sheriff’s file.

That when this investigation queried the 3rd sheriff as to were these documents were kept since his leaving office, he stated, “In my home and the trunk of my car.”

It was recently learned that this 3rd former OC sheriff was/is related by marriage to the captioned 1948 suspect deputy sheriff. This would give cause to believe, this may have been the reason he emptied the sheriff's office evidence file on this case upon leaving office. Making it next to impossible for any newly elected sheriffs to investigate the case."

Images: Exhumation of Mary Janes body.

Set 1.

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Exhumation of Mary Jane's remains.

Set 2.

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Exhumation of Mary Jane's remains.

Set 3.

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2005 concurring x-rays

"That the X-rays taken of Mary Jane Reed’s body after it was exhumed and during an August 2005 post mortem examination reveal images of fracture like or trauma like intrusions on three of the ribs in the upper left chest area.

That the 2005 X-rays of Mary Jane Reed were not given to Mary Jane’s brother by Ogle County authorities after the exhuming as ordered by the court in a 2005 ruling by Judge Stephen Pemberton.

That Warren Reed was finally forced to file a petition against the Ogle County authorities in 2008 to obtain said X-rays.

Stanley Skridla’s body

That a Fred Echardt, who first discovered Skridla’s body, gave sworn testimony at a 1948 inquest that Skridla’s “face was all black.”

That in 2003 an interview with the wife of an eyewitness, who had seen Skridla the night before he was killed, (and who was asked to identify Skridla’s body on the morning of June 25, 1948,) was conducted. Said witness’s wife stated that her husband told her that Skridla’s head “was all black.”

Stanley's upper torso and head was declared as having been set afire with an accelerant.

[DeathHand]

Illinois State Police anthropologist

"That the ISP forensic anthropologist on site stated to the Reed family, minutes after his 2005 post mortem examination that the female victim was not killed by a single gunshot to the back of the head.

That the Ogle County sheriff’s captain present at the exhuming urged the Reed family in the presence of the ISP forensic anthropologist to re-inter the female victim’s body in its entirety as quickly as possible.

That the I.S.P forensic anthropologist in the presence of the Ogle County captain urged the Reed family not to re-inter the female victim’s body without further examination of the exhumed skull, first seven vertebrae and left femur bone.

That the Reed family authorized the county to re-inter the female victim’s body, except for the exhumed skull, first seven vertebrae and left femur.

That the I.S.P. forensic anthropologist stated to the Reed family that an extensive examination would be made by the I.S.P. crime lab to the remaining skull, first seven vertebrae and left femur over the next few months.


That when the Reed family opted to agree with the I.S.P forensic examiner to further examine the bones, the Ogle County captain present became quite upset and began cursing.

That the I.S.P. forensic examiner stated to the Reed family that the skull exhumed was not shot in the back of the head."

Mary Jane's body during autopsy.

[DeathHand]

Mary Jane's body during autopsy.

Set 2.