Convicted Killer May Be Linked To Murder Of Teen: Defense

GLEN ELLYN, IL — When convicted murderer Ralph Andrews died in prison in 2006, he left behind tales of murdering dozens of young girls throughout the midwest. As the murder trial for Kristy Wesselman, who was found dead in 1985 at age 15, approaches, Andrews's name has come up again. Could Andrews have been linked to Wesselman's murder? That's what defense attorneys for Michael R. Jones, 64, who was charged with Wesselman's murder in 2015, are suggesting.

Jones's lawyers filed a petition Monday to submit evidence that they assert ties Andrews to Wesselman's murder, Chicago Tribune reports. Andrews was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of murdering two young women, Susan Clark and Virginia Griffin.

Griffin was found murdered in a public park in Rogers Park in 1991 at age 44. Andrews was also convicted of slaying Susan Clark, 16, in 1977. Both women had been raped and eviscerated with a knife, police said.

Jones's attorneys assert that Andrews kept a list of two dozen of his alleged victims by first name. The defense claims that one of the names on the list was "Kris," according to Chicago Tribune.

If Judge George Bakalis permits the defense to present the Andrews information during the Jones case, it will have to stand up against the prosecution's argument of Jones's DNA matching evidence collected at Wesselman's murder scene.

Jones came up as a match to the DNA at the Wesselman murder scene when he was arrested for an unrelated crime in 2015.

The trial is set to begin on January 23.

>>Image via DuPage County Sheriff's Office