As "The Murders at Starved Rock" (2021 release; 3 episodes of 58 min each) opens with Episode 1 "The Bogeyman", we are at the Illinois state park called Starved Rock, and we learn that three Chicago women were brutally murdered there on March 16, 1960, sending shockwaves to the surrounding communities. We then get to know David Racugglia, a native from nearby Lasalle, IL, whose father was the prosecutor in the ensuing murder trial and who has been haunted by this case for decades. "I just want to get to the truth", he comments... At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1 of this TV documentary mini-series.
Couple of comments: this is the directing debut of Emmy-winning editor Jody McVeigh-Schultz ("McMillion$"). In this mini-series, he reassesses what happened now over 60 years ago. These murders shocked the surrounding communities, and in fact the nation, and the pressure to find the killer was immense on all parties involved (local and state authorities). Did they get the right man? That is the crux of this mini-series. McVeigh-Schultz tracks down many of the people involved, also benefiting from an earlier attempt (in 2005) by David Raccuglia in making his own documentary of it all. Just based on Episode 1, which I watched the other night, it feels like the director is approaching this even-handedly, and we are to make up our own minds whether the suspect (Chester Weger, a dishwasher at the Starved Rock Lodge) is or isn't the murderer. But what really is striking is watching the archive footage (mostly TV news clips) of that era, with white men literally controlling everything, which now feeling eerily strange and completely out of touch with today (of course it was 60 years ago after all).
"The Murders at Starved Rock" recently premiered on HBO Max, and is now available on HBO On Demand and HBO Max (where I caught it). I plan on seeing Episodes 2 and 3 very soon. I may have to revise my original rating of 6 stars, depending on how these remaining episodes play out. If you like true-crime documentaries, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: this is the directing debut of Emmy-winning editor Jody McVeigh-Schultz ("McMillion$"). In this mini-series, he reassesses what happened now over 60 years ago. These murders shocked the surrounding communities, and in fact the nation, and the pressure to find the killer was immense on all parties involved (local and state authorities). Did they get the right man? That is the crux of this mini-series. McVeigh-Schultz tracks down many of the people involved, also benefiting from an earlier attempt (in 2005) by David Raccuglia in making his own documentary of it all. Just based on Episode 1, which I watched the other night, it feels like the director is approaching this even-handedly, and we are to make up our own minds whether the suspect (Chester Weger, a dishwasher at the Starved Rock Lodge) is or isn't the murderer. But what really is striking is watching the archive footage (mostly TV news clips) of that era, with white men literally controlling everything, which now feeling eerily strange and completely out of touch with today (of course it was 60 years ago after all).
"The Murders at Starved Rock" recently premiered on HBO Max, and is now available on HBO On Demand and HBO Max (where I caught it). I plan on seeing Episodes 2 and 3 very soon. I may have to revise my original rating of 6 stars, depending on how these remaining episodes play out. If you like true-crime documentaries, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.