A sordid crime against a 7-year-old boy finally solved more than 65 years after his death

It took 65 years to know the end of the story. In the United States, police in Ozaukee County (Wisconsin) announced that they had elucidated the violent murder of little Chester, 7 years old, found dead in October 1959 in the suburbs of Milwaukee.

The body of the little boy, whose full name was Chester Alfred Breiney, had been discovered as a skeleton in the fall of 1959hidden in a ditch. At the time, more than 200 leads had been studied, to the point of linking the murder of the boy to a disappearance case that occurred in Michigan: that of little Markku Jutila, also 7 years old.

The adoptive mother confessed to the murder

When questioned, little Markku's adoptive mother, Hiljia Jutila, confessed to having beaten her son to death before disposing of his body. However, neither she nor her husband, William Jutila, had been tried. Indeed, Michigan forensic scientists were never able to prove that the skeleton discovered in Wisconsin was indeed that of Markku.

But in October 2023, advances in genetics allowed the investigation to move forward. Thanks to DNA,
scientists were able to link the small skeleton discovered in 1959 to the Breiney familya family whose child was adopted by the Jutilas in 1955. The skeleton discovered in Wisconsin was therefore that of Markku Jutila, whose birth name was Chester Alfred Breiney. The latter had been placed in the orphanage by his biological mother, Josephine Breiney, who was unable to raise him alone, before being adopted by the Jutilas.

Chester's adoptive parents will never be punished

There is no longer any doubt: the little skeleton was that of Markku, who is none other than little Chester Alfred Breiney. The latter was indeed beaten to death by his parentsWilliam and Hiljia Jutila, in the fall of 1959. The latter, however, were never tried, having both died in 1988.

But if his tormentors will never be punished for their act, little Chester will finally be able to rest in peace. His funeral will be held this Friday, November 15 in Port-Washington, Wisconsin. The Eernisse funeral home website invites everyone who wishes to send flowers or plant a tree in his memory.