Man Pleads Guilty To 1985 Murder Of 15-Year-Old Kristy Wesselman

GLEN ELLYN, IL — More than three decades after 15-year-old Kristy Wesselman was found dead in unincorporated Glen Ellyn, her killer will be brought to justice. Michael Jones, 64, pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually assaulting and murdering Wesselman.

Jones has been in DuPage County Jail since 2015, when his DNA came up as a match in the Wesselman murder case, which was thought to have gone cold. His attorneys recently pushed for Judge George Bakalis to allow questioning of the lab tech in charge of handling the murder scene's DNA.

Kristy Wesselman's body was found, partially unclothed, in a field between her home and a nearby Jewel-Osco store where she had just bought a candy bar and a can of soda. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times. The half-eaten candy bar was found not far from her body.

After Jones pleaded guilty to murdering Wesselman, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said, "Kristy Wesselman had her whole life ahead of her,” Berlin said. “She was a beautiful young girl, full of life and loved by all. More than three decades have passed since Michael Jones sexually assaulted and brutally murdered Kristy, forever changing the lives of her surviving family and friends. I’m sure that in that time, not a day has passed that Kristy’s family hasn’t thought about today, the day of reckoning for the man who sexually assaulted and murdered Kristy. Her family and friends have waited a long time for justice and today, justice was delivered."

Jones will appear in court on Jan. 23 for sentencing.

>>Image via DuPage County Jail