September trial set in Ill. girl’s 1957 murder

SYCAMORE, Ill. — The trial of a Seattle man accused in the 1957 slaying of a 7-year-old Illinois girl will begin in September.

Jack McCullough is charged with kidnapping and killing Maria Ridulph as she played outside her home in the small northern Illinois town of Sycamore.

The 72-year-old was arrested last year in one of the oldest slaying cases in the nation to be reopened. Authorities received new information, and the girl’s remains were re-examined.

McCullough lived near the victim at the time she was killed. He has pleaded not guilty.

At a status hearing Thursday, a judge set a Sept. 10 trial date.

The (Dekalb) Daily Chronicle reported that McCullough appeared via closed-circuit TV from the DeKalb County jail. Another status hearing was set for July 11.

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