Naperville's Notorious Murder Defendant Dies Inside Will County Jail

JOLIET, IL — An elderly man who was incarcerated in the Will County Jail was found dead in his detention cell on Friday morning, and the Daily Herald confirmed the man was Barry Whelpley, the 79-year-old cold case murder defendant in custody for the 1972 slaying of a 15-year-old Naperville girl, Julie Ann Hanson.

Whelpley just appeared in Courtroom 405 of Judge Dave Carlson on Tuesday of this week. The Mounds View, Minnesota man had been in the Will County Jail awaiting his murder trial since June 8, 2021. Whelpley had been represented by prominent Chicago suburban criminal defense lawyer Terry Ekl.

Correctional staff saw the man alive at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, but shortly before 7 a.m. Friday, sheriff's deputies and Joliet Fire Department paramedics were called to 95 S. Chicago St. after correctional staff found the man unresponsive.

Initial reports indicate that no foul play was suspected, sheriff's spokesman Kathy Hoffmeyer indicated.

In the summer of 2021, Naperville Patch reported that nearly 50 years after 15-year-old Hanson was found stabbed to death in a Naperville cornfield, the Minnesota has been charged in her murder.

Whelpley, then 76, of Mounds View, Minnesota, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with Hanson's death, Will County State's Attorney Jim Glasgow announced.

Hanson was last seen alive on July 7, 1972. Her body was discovered the next day near 87th Street and Modaff Road after the bicycle she had been riding was found on a nearby gravel road. Police say she had been stabbed numerous times.

Whelpley's arrest came via "genealogy and DNA evidence," then-Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall said. His department never stopped investigating Hanson's murder, Marshall said nearly four year ago, adding that Hanson's picture remained on investigators' desks.

On Friday, the Will/Grundy Major Crimes Task Force was called to the county jail "to conduct a complete and transparent investigation of the death. Any further details regarding this incident will be provided through the Task Force," according to Hoffmeyer.

Related Patch coverage of Julie Ann Hanson's Naperville Murder:

Slaying Of Julie Ann Hanson: MN Man, 76, Charged With Murder

Judge OKs Use Of Police Station Conversation In Whelpley Trial: Report