Jeanine Nicarico's murder | Ep 217

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Jeanine Nicarico's Murder" | Crime and Coffee Couple, Ep. 217 (October 26, 2025)

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Overview

In this emotionally resonant episode, married hosts Allison and Mike dive into the harrowing 1983 murder of 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico from Naperville, Illinois—a case that would ultimately expose systemic flaws in the justice system and lead to two wrongful death row convictions before the true perpetrator was found. Through Allison’s meticulous research and the couple’s signature blend of warmth, banter, and heartfelt respect for the victim, listeners get an in-depth look at a case that devastated a family, shook a community, and changed Illinois legal history.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Connection and Setting the Scene

• The hosts open by sharing their personal ties to Naperville/Aurora, Illinois, where the crime occurred, setting a heartfelt and familiar tone.
• Notable Quote:
  • Allison: “We are very near and dear to Naperville. That’s where we lived before we relocated to Florida.” (10:24)

2. The Abduction & Crime Details

• On Feb 25, 1983, 10-year-old Jeanine stayed home sick from school. Her mother checked on her via lunch visit and a later phone call. After the call, an intruder violently broke in, abducted, assaulted, and murdered Jeanine.
• Key Details:
  • Perpetrator lured Jeanine with a request for a screwdriver; when denied, he kicked down the door.
  • Jeanine was bound, blindfolded, transported, assaulted, and then killed by blunt force trauma; evidence was detailed and respectful.
• Notable Quote:
  • Allison: “When I saw her, I had to have her.” (Killer’s Confession) (17:02)
  • Mike: “What an absolute nightmare ... this is the absolute worst case scenario.” (12:24)

3. Discovery and Investigation

• Jeanine’s body was found two days later off the Illinois Prairie Path. The crime scene and autopsy details were meticulously described, offering both forensic and emotional context.
• The family’s devastation and the community’s sense of lost innocence are highlighted.
• Notable Quote:
  • Allison: “She was lying face down on a slight incline ... Her eyes were still covered with that towel.” (24:00)
• Investigation gathered fingerprints, boot and shoe prints, and witness reports of suspicious cars by the scene.

4. Wrongful Convictions: Cruz, Hernandez, and Buckley

• Under immense public pressure and on little evidence, police focused on young men from Aurora: Alex Hernandez, Rolando Cruz, and Stephen Buckley.
• Investigative methods included offering a reward, jailhouse snitches, and boot print analysis that proved unreliable.
• The hosts emphasize the dangers of coercive police tactics and false confessions, particularly for vulnerable or low-IQ suspects.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Mike: “Some of these guys are absolute compulsive liars.” (32:23)
  • Allison: “It’s hard when you have a compulsive liar because you never know the difference between the truth and a lie. Without trust, you have nothing.” (33:00)
• Most evidence against them was inconsistent or later recanted. Still, Cruz and Hernandez were convicted and sent to death row; Buckley’s charges were dismissed after a hung jury.
• Detective John Sam, doubting their guilt, resigned so he could testify for the defense—an act the hosts highlight as heroic.
  • Mike: “That’s a man of ... honor.” (38:53)

5. Discovery of the Real Killer: Brian Dugan

• Years later, serial offender Brian Dugan confessed to the murder of Jeanine (and other victims, including 7-year-old Missy Ackerman and 27-year-old Donna Schnorr). He provided crime details unknown to the public, and subsequent DNA evidence confirmed his guilt.
• Discussion on why authorities hesitated to credit Dugan’s confession—fear of reputational damage for law enforcement and prosecutors.
• The show emphasizes the tragic error: the real killer was free during the years Cruz and Hernandez were wrongly imprisoned, leading to further assaults and deaths.
• Notable Quote:
  • Mike: “In the meantime ... [the wrong focus] allowed him to murder two more innocent victims.” (64:14)

6. Legal System Failings and Fallout

• Illinois’ high rate of wrongful convictions is discussed, using this case as an emblematic example (“home of the nation’s sixth highest rate of wrongful conviction”).
• The hosts analyze legal missteps: group trial, unreliable witnesses, coerced statements, and flawed forensic comparisons.
• Prosecutors and investigators (the “DuPage 7”) were later indicted for misconduct but acquitted; Cruz, Hernandez, and Buckley received a $3.5 million settlement.
• Insight: The death penalty in Illinois was abolished in 2011 in part due to this and similar cases.

7. Aftermath and Jeanine’s Legacy

• Jeanine’s family created a literacy fund and annual “GLOW” race to honor her love of reading and support literacy initiatives—an enduring positive legacy from tragedy.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Allison: “The idea that they were able to give back to the community for two decades was something that they know their sister would be very proud of.” (66:23)
  • Mike: “She’ll never breathe again, but maybe her soul can get into these kids and learn to read.” (69:16)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12:24 | Mike | “What an absolute nightmare... this is the absolute worst case scenario.” | | 17:02 | Allison | (Reading killer’s words): “When I saw her, I had to have her.” | | 32:23 | Mike | “Some of these guys are absolute compulsive liars.” | | 38:53 | Mike | “That’s a man of... honor.” (on Detective John Sam's resignation to testify for truth) | | 47:02 | Allison | “Dugan’s confession came about four months after Cruz and Hernandez had been found guilty...” | | 64:14 | Mike | “...in the meantime, now that they're going to have an opportunity to sue... it's a terrible scenario.” | | 66:23 | Allison | “To provide grants for educators, schools and organizations that promote literacy.” | | 69:16 | Mike | “She’ll never breathe again, but maybe her soul can get into these kids and learn to read.” |

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Important Timestamps

• 09:57 – Trigger warning, story of Jeanine Nicarico begins
• 12:11 – The break-in, abduction, and details about that day
• 24:00 – 25:31 – Discovery of Jeanine’s body and autopsy results
• 28:00 – 36:00 – Early investigation, focus on Hernandez, Buckley, and Cruz
• 36:48 – 40:27 – First convictions and sentencing to death row
• 44:49 – 52:50 – Entry of Brian Dugan, Dugan’s confessions, evidence review
• 52:50 – 57:14 – Dugan’s account, inconsistencies, ongoing prosecution of Cruz and Hernandez
• 59:55 – Final exoneration of Cruz and Hernandez
• 65:03 – Dugan indicted and sentenced; death penalty abolished
• 66:20 – 69:36 – Jeanine’s family legacy, the GLOW literacy initiative

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Tone and Language

True to their style, Allison and Mike deliver the episode with earnest empathy, casual banter, and occasional sarcastic asides, but always center the humanity of the case and respect for the victim and her loved ones. Their approach is never sensational but rather focused on the facts, the tragic impact, and the lessons to be learned.

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Summary

This episode of Crime and Coffee Couple is a poignant, infuriating, and ultimately enlightening account of how a child’s tragic murder rippled through a family, a criminal justice system, and an entire state. The hosts balance carefully researched narrative and legal analysis with personal stories and advocacy for reform, while honoring Jeanine’s memory and shining a light on the need for compassion, accuracy, and accountability in justice.

Transcript

[Mike]

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[Alison]

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode with the crime and coffee couple. My name is Alison.

[Mike]

And my name's Mike.

[Alison]

Hi, Mai.

[Mike]

Hey.

[Alison]

Hey, girl. Hey.

[Mike]

Hey, girl. Hey. How you doing?

[Alison]

I'm good. How are you?

[Mike]

Oh, good, good. I'm just drinking some coffee here I made this morning and it was supposed to be like 14 ounces I put on the thing, but it turned out to be like eight. And it tastes like four. Four to six espresso shots. It's very, very, very strong. It's going to grow lots of thick hair on my back, which I need no help with.

[Alison]

Well, I hope you're going to be able to sit in this chair and listen to the story with all of that caffeine running through your veins.

[Mike]

If anything, I'm going to be more excited about, well, not excited, but excited to hopefully catch the murderer and kill them. You know, that is usually my thing.

[Alison]

So you made me my latte today and it is quite delectable. It's my ember mug, so it's keeping it nice and warm. And no, they don't split. Sponsor us.

[Mike]

Yeah, not yet. But Ember, if you want to sponsor, you know, reach out to your boy over here.

[Alison]

I just like a hot cup of coffee. I don't know about you, but I get distracted very easily. I ping from one thing to the next to the next. I'm one of those. It's like, oh, I gotta do this. But on the way to do that, I start doing this and I'm like, just focus. And then I turn around, my coffee is ice cold.

[Mike]

But it's kind of interesting since you've taken over more of a role on the podcast, like researching more and doing your. Your other job a little bit less. Like you've been just obsessed like all the time. Every free. You're basically like trying to get it into your laptop and trying to research more. More stuff.

[Alison]

It is, it's a little bit of an obsession. Or even just like today I was on the treadmill and I popped on Netflix and I was like, oh, they have an Ed Gein special. So I was like, Mike, you got to do a TikTok on that.

[Mike]

Yeah. If you guys are following our TikTok account, it's basically, it's Allison does a nice deep dive, I would say for, for TikTok, like three and a half minutes or something like that. Or three.

[Alison]

Three.

[Mike]

Yeah. And then I do these like minute, 30 second. I try to do like just basic quips and bites and I. Those been going decently, so we'll see. Yeah, yeah. But other than singing a Christmas song earlier today. Cuz it's, it's, you know, we're getting towards the end of Halloween almost. We're getting to Halloween. So I'm starting to think like, Christmas time is here almost. And I was like, ah, Christmas time is here.

[Alison]

Well, you were singing like the Charlie Brown version of it.

[Mike]

That is the Charlie Brown version.

[Alison]

Well, right, but you were singing like humming it in more of the not Josh Groban way. Thank you. Yes. So I was like fixing the cushions on the couch and just like making the house look nice. And I was like, mike, are you singing the Charlie Brown Christmas song?

[Mike]

It's almost like you're whistling the Charlie Brown. I'm like, well, that's a good reason because I am. That is the Josh Groban version. Very good.

[Alison]

So now we're both just sitting here singing Charlie Brown Christmas and hopefully you.

[Mike]

Are too at home. And while you're doing that, if you could pop on over to our podcast and give us a five star review. And also importantly, if you're with an apple, leave some words in there. So you scroll to the bottom and then you says, write a review or something. Because I found out from AI that they pick up those things. So it's very important to. As AI crawls the web and they see things that are more reviews, then they'll. They'll pick us up more.

[Alison]

So I don't know if you guys are somebody that don't leave reviews very often. I'm not someone that leaves a review very often, but when I really enjoy a podcast, I do want to support them and help them grow and build. And the other thing is, our son is putting in a ton of hours into our YouTube edit.

[Mike]

Bless his little heart.

[Alison]

Bless his heart. So if you could just throw us a little bone and go over and, like. And subscribe.

[Mike]

Yeah. And really quick. We haven't mentioned it in a long time, but if you've enjoyed three episodes or more of our podcast, it's time to put out. It's. It's kind of like, you know, you go on a few dates, and you're like, all right, we got to get physical here somehow.

[Alison]

You're like, it's the third date. There's a little pressure on me. But, hey, if you don't want to do it, you don't have to do it.

[Mike]

No, you're more than welcome just to say no, but it's the implication, as we learned.

[Alison]

Yeah. We were watching what? It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

[Mike]

Yeah. Our son showed you. Finally. I knew this scene, but the implication scene, and it's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It's really bad. Really dark humor. Not something I would support outwardly, but it's hilarious, Right? I laugh at it, but, yeah. Anyways, please go ahead. Leave us a review wherever you are. We really, really appreciate it.

[Alison]

Yeah. So thank you guys so much for being here with us. We appreciate. If you're new to us, I tell the story, Mike hears it for the first time. Just like with you guys.

[Mike]

And if you don't know, we're high school sweethearts. Did you know that?

[Alison]

Yeah. We've been together since we were 16.

[Mike]

Yeah. We met at a bagel shop. We told our daughter the other day, if it wasn't for bagels, like, you probably wouldn't even be here.

[Alison]

Well, she's obsessed with bagels because it's one of my favorite foods in the world. And every night at dinner this week, she's like, what are we having? I'm like, shepherd's pie. She's like, I'll have a bagel.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Alison]

And I'm like, I'm making enough food for all of us and you're eating a bagel.

[Mike]

And I start to get PO'd because nobody's eating the food that I bought. And I don't like that. I don't like waste whatsoever.

[Alison]

Thank you. Need to be eating this shepherd's pie. I'm like, it's kind of turning my stomach right now. I don't want to eat the shepherd's pie.

[Mike]

So I've got a lot of shepherd's pie in the fridge I need to get right into. After this episode, I got other leftovers. It's just, you know, things are piling up. I gotta get to it.

[Alison]

But she was putting cream cheese on her bagel and we're like, you know, you wouldn't exist without bagels. Cause we met at Bruger's Bagels in 1996.

[Mike]

Yeah. And I don't know if it's a thing now, but it seems like bagels are starting to be a thing. You know how like, crumble cookie came out and like, there was a lot of cookie shops that were very similar there. I don't. Don't say. Yeah, because we live in a kind of a far suburb of Tampa, so we don't get like all the new stuff.

[Alison]

Like, we're about 20 minutes outside of Tampa.

[Mike]

Yeah. But I mean, it's like we get things like later, like, we got a crumble cookie about halfway through the crumble craze. You know, we got. Just got a Dutch Brothers the other day. So.

[Alison]

Yeah, we went to it for the. Just opened.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Alison]

But no, I don't think bagels are just exploding now. I mean, you think about, like Bruggers, Einstein's Dunkin Donuts has bagels.

[Mike]

Well, yes, bagels have been around a long time. I'm not trying to say they just got invented.

[Alison]

Can you name a shop that's brand new? That's like, who? Bagel Bagels.

[Mike]

Well, H and H bagels are starting to expand. There's like, bagels that. I don't know. I don't know the names yet because they're not here. Like, that's the point.

[Alison]

What a concept. Bread shaped with a hole in the middle, like a donut.

[Mike]

Well, there's. That's the thing. A lot of them are getting rid of the holes so you can have more toppings, which makes complete sense.

[Alison]

But then would it be called a bagel?

[Mike]

Yeah, you still, like, bake the bagel dough and whatever and boil it.

[Alison]

What's. What's that one called? Belen Bologna Bellini bologna. No, you know what I'm talking about.

[Mike]

Yeah. This is.

[Alison]

I can't think of it, but the whole thing is, is like, wouldn't it be a different name if you change? Because isn't a bagel, you know, tubular shaped dough with a hole in the center?

[Mike]

Yes. Let me tell you something about business for marketing purpose. You'd probably wanted to keep it something like, familiar so that people aren't like, well, what's this? A blondie, like, people know bagel. Yeah. So like, if you like a bread bagel with some cream cheese, like, you know what you're getting with some schmears or whatever. And like, the interesting thing is that they're adding like other flavors and like making it like, instead of just a topping of everything, like the whole thing is encompassed in it, maybe sprinkled inside of it too. Like, it's extreme bagels.

[Alison]

Of like when we go to Big Apple Bagels and we get the jalapeno and cheddar and all that. This is like new. No, I've been going to Big Apple Bagels since I was a kid.

[Mike]

Oh, God. Just. Okay, in six months we'll come back to this conversation, be like, Mike, you were right.

[Alison]

All like. You are a pioneer.

[Mike]

I'm not a pioneer. I'm telling you what's happening in America right now.

[Alison]

What about in Ireland and England?

[Mike]

I don't know.

[Alison]

The other countries.

[Mike]

I can't speak for it. You guys let me know. Are bagels becoming bigger thing?

[Alison]

I don't know. So anyway, shall we dive into this cup of coffee?

[Mike]

Let's do a tick while then. Now we got every hungry for bagels and whistling Christmas songs.

[Alison]

I'm sorry, but is there anything better than a good warm toasted bagel with a delicious cream cheese on top with an awesome cup of coffee?

[Mike]

Yeah. And especially like a crispy bagel on the outside, like soft. Oh, my gosh, that sounds so good.

[Alison]

You know what was my best bagel? When we went on our trip together last year at Thanksgiving to New York City for the weekend, it was just me and Mike, and we ate our bagel and drank our latte in Central park amongst all the colors of the fall.

[Mike]

And they give you about a pound and a half of cream cheese on the bagel.

[Alison]

Oh, I was like flinging it into the B bag. I took off, like, probably a half pound of cream cheese.

[Mike]

I was trying to catch every single ounce that you.

[Alison]

Mike was on the ground. Like, he looked like a rabid squirrel.

[Mike]

Yeah. It was my best day all Right.

[Alison]

So on that note, shall we dive into this cup of coffee?

[Mike]

Let's.

[Alison]

All right, so this is a listener suggestion from people that we actually met in person before our cruise. We went and stayed at a Marriott hotel in Orlando and we met a lovely couple. They had two beautiful daughters. And this is a listener suggestion from them. So thank you so very much, Sarah and Mark. You guys are awesome. And Mark, by the way, I will never forget that Diddy that you sang on the pool deck. It was pretty awesome.

[Mike]

Oh, yeah, he did a great job.

[Alison]

Karaoke.

[Mike]

Karaoke. If you ever get a chance to see Mark live in karaoke, he's.

[Alison]

He's solid.

[Mike]

Hey, before we get into this episode, just wanted to give a quick trigger warning. There is some sexual assault on a minor and it's pretty graphic. So in case that's something very, very terrible you don't want to hear, then please go to one of our other episodes now. Thanks for listening.

[Alison]

This is the story of the murder of Janine Nicaraco. So on Friday, February 25, 1983, 10 year old Janine stayed home from school since she was sick with the flu. Since her parents were at work that day and her two older sisters, Kathy and Chris, they were at school, she was going to be home alone. So the Nicaraco family, they lived on Clover Court in Naperville, Illinois. And we are very near and dear to Naperville. That's where we lived before we relocated to Florida.

[Mike]

Well, we really lived in Aurora, but we told people Naperville because it was much nicer.

[Alison]

Well, it was really on the border. Like literally if you cross the street, we were in Naperville, so we could say Naperville, Aurora. And if you've ever seen Wayne's World, that takes place in Aurora, Illinois. That's actually where we lived. So she's home alone, she's homesick with the flu. So just to give you an idea of where Naperville is, it's a suburb that's 33 miles southwest of Chicago. It's a beautiful place. It's got this quaint little downtown area that's along the river. We were in our 20s there. It was like the perfect place to be married.

[Mike]

And yeah, if you can't live in the city, it's a great spot to be. It's like the next version of the city because it's got everything, all kinds of awesome restaurants. Like you just said, like it's happening place. And if, like we're from the area so we might say where we're originally from and be like, oh, I think I've heard of that. And then we're like, well, we lived in Naperville for a year. Like, oh yeah, everybody knows Naperville.

[Alison]

It's.

[Mike]

It's basically due west. Like maybe it's a little southwest, but it's like, it's. Yeah, it's a, a lot of Cubs fans. So it's a little like north side, I don't know. But yeah, it's great.

[Alison]

Huge, huge city and just the most charming houses that are down by the river. It's picture perfect. Like you picture of a Hallmark movie. That's kind of what downtown Naperville looks like.

[Mike]

Like what, 200, 000 population ish right now. So pretty big.

[Alison]

Oh, I wouldn't have a clue. So Janine's father, Tom, he worked in Chicago as an engineer while her mom, Pat, was an elementary school secretary in Naperville. So she was close by. So the family was living in DuPage County. So since she wasn't feeling well, Janine just rested that day and not only had her mom, Pat come home to check on her daughter during her lunch break, but she also called her on the phone later that afternoon just to check back in with her, make sure she was doing okay. And then sometime after that phone call, a monster broke into their quaint family home in Naperville Is a safe place to live.

[Mike]

Very.

[Alison]

So it is the middle of the day on a Friday and some monster comes up to this home, breaks in and violently abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered. Sweet 10 year old Janine.

[Mike]

What an absolute nightmare. Every single family anywhere. Like, this is the absolute worst case scenario.

[Alison]

You know, it's hard enough to leave your child home sick. That's hard. And I am speaking from, I'm a working mom and it's hard because the Nicaragua family, they had three children. And if you stayed home every time one of your children was sick, like you'd never go to work, especially into Trouble.

[Mike]

This is 1983 too. So there was no working from home. This is like if you're working, you're gone.

[Alison]

Right. And you know, you're trying your best to balance everything. Jeanine was 10. She was a responsible little girl. Pat was checking in on her. You never think something like this is going to happen. All you think is, I really feel bad leaving my sick daughter home.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Alison]

So Illinois is home of the nation's six highest rate of wrongful conviction. And in Jeanine's horrific rape and murder, two men were wrongfully convicted and sent to death row despite the Fact that a repeat sex offender and murderer confessed that he alone had committed this crime. So this led to a decades long saga that dragged her already grieving and traumatized family through the gruesome details that prolonged their already immense pain. So this is a wild, crazy case. It's tragic and it's sad.

[Commercial Narrator]

Wow.

[Mike]

So we just jumped right to it. Like, so two people were just in jail and wrongfully convicted.

[Alison]

Yes.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Alison]

So Janine was a bright eyed little girl. She had a dimpled smile and a caring, sensitive heart. In 1983, she was a fifth grader at Elmwood Elementary School. And according to her family, when she was in second or third grade, she had struggled a little bit with like, reading comprehension and that sort of thing. But then when she hit fourth grade, she just had this teacher that was clicking with her, and she kind of identified with what Janine was needing and she taught her and motivated her through new techniques that really, truly inspired this new love of reading.

[Mike]

That's incredible. It's like going from like barely being able to keep up.

[Alison]

Right.

[Mike]

To loving it.

[Alison]

So this blossomed into a true love of not only reading, but also school in general, which is awesome because we always tell our kids, you're gonna be in school for a very long time. You may as well enjoy it and get something good out of it. So this reading was basically something that she loved nearly as much as horses, puppies, gardening, and B. So since Pat worked close by, she was able to pop by that afternoon. She wanted to check on her daughter. So she came home at about noon. And not only did she make sure that Janine was doing okay, but she also made her lunch. So while she prepared a grilled cheese sandwich and milk for Janine, she learned that Janine had allowed a man from the gas company to come into their house. And, you know, Pat was concerned. And she reminded her, under no circumstances do you open this door. Do you let anyone inside.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Alison]

So as Pat left to go back to work at about 12:30pm she gave her daughter a kiss and a hug. And she recalled that she gave her an extra tight squeeze. And she said, you know, she just didn't want to let her go. And it's hard again when you have a sick child because you really feel sad. So just Pat said to Janine, I don't really want to go, Jean and I. And don't let anybody in. If they ring the bell, don't open it. Just call me and I'll be right home. So when Pat called Janine sometime at about 1pm she checked on her again. They were just chatting. Janine was telling her what she'd been up to. She was telling her mom what she was watching on tv. And she was contemplating maybe writing her grandparents a letter. So as they said goodbye and hung up the phone, this was sadly the last time Pat ever heard the sound of her daughter's voice. So sometime after 2pm that day, just as Pat had feared, someone had come to the door. But this time, Janine heeded her mother's warnings and she hadn't opened that door. So what later came to light was that the man on the other side had seen her through a window. He had seen this 10 year old little girl and he called out to her because he knew she was there. And he asked her for a screwdriver because he said he needed to fix his car. Janine told him that she could not help him. So as she turned to go back downstairs to the family room, the killer kicked in the front door as Janine desperately tried to run to safety. The man later indicated that when he saw Janine through the window, she was wearing a pink night shirt with Sleepy the dwarf on it with the words, I'm sleepy. I mean, this is a 10 year old precious little angel. She's pure innocence. He later confessed. When I saw her, I had to have her.

[Mike]

Ugh.

[Alison]

I mean, how sick is that?

[Mike]

Absolutely insane. Gross. Like after that somebody says that you should just like just throw them in a hole somewhere, right?

[Alison]

So the man grabbed Janine from the family room of her split level home and carried her upstairs to an unmade bed in her 14 year old sister's bedroom. He tied her up and wrapped her in a sheet from the bed and leaving her there while he went out to his car because he wanted to move it closer to the house, knowing he was going to take Janine from the house and place her in his car. So as he moved his car from the street to the driveway, he also grabbed tape that was inside his car. So now back inside, he folded a towel around Janine's eyes as a makeshift blindfold and he secured it in place with tape that had zigzag edges. So he carried the 10 year old little girl, who was terrified. She was bound and gagged from the safety of her home where only minutes earlier she was sitting in the family room watching TV and writing a letter to her grandparents. So he placed her into his car and made the 15 minute drive to the Illinois Prairie Path. And this is situated between Aurora and Naperville, just off Interstate 88. Otherwise known as the East West Tollway. I basically lived on this tollway because I had to take to college when we were first married. So it was there in the back seat of his car, that he raped her anally. So the man told Janine that he would take her home. But as they got out of the car and walked behind it, he struck her twice in the back of the head with a tire iron. She fell to the ground, striking her head on the bumper as she did. He then struck her on the forehead and face with a tree branch, and he dragged her about 20ft off of the path. Death. As the man fled from the scene, he drove in the wrong direction toward a dead end, and his car became stuck in the mud. So he's in this muddy area trying to turn his car around. And as he tried to free himself from the mud and eventually drove off, two Illinois tow workers were sitting there watching this. Obviously, they have absolutely no idea what this guy had just done. So when Kathy Nicaraco, this is one of Janine's oldest older sisters, she came home from school that day at about 3pm and as soon as she walked up to the house, it was very clear that something was wrong, because she found the front door ajar. And it wasn't just a jar, as if it hadn't clicked into place. And maybe the wind blew it open because the metal plate on the door that holds the latch, this is otherwise known as a strike plate, it was laying on the ground, and the molding from inside the door frame had been almost completely torn off. So you could tell that somebody had violently got into that door. So as Kathy entered the house, she saw the TV was on, but Janine was nowhere to be found. She found a partially written letter to their grandparents in front of the TV that her little sister had written. So as Kathy went into her bedroom, she immediately noticed that it was not how she had left it. When she went to school that morning, there were clear signs of a struggle. Her blanket and top sheet were missing from the bed. Nothing big seemed to be taken from the house. Their tv, their video cassette recorder, jewelry box, and pieces of silver were all there within plain view. So after Janine was reported missing, a massive task force was assembled, which included the FBI, the Naperville Police, and the DuPage County Sheriff's Office. They gathered evidence from the Nicaraco house. This included fingerprints and shoe prints. So there was a boot print on the front door just below and to the left of the latch. So you could tell the that this is where the person had actually kicked through the door. There were also two shoe prints, and with two different tread designs outside the living room window, it's possible that maybe these were unrelated to the case. Maybe somebody was doing some kind of work there. Because the fact that there were two different tread patterns kind of tells me it wasn't anything to do with that. So there was a fourth print just inside a depression that was on the lawn where a car's tire had left an imprint. And we later learned that this guy did move his car closer to the house for him to take Janine. So when two dogs from the Lake County Sheriff's Department were brought in, they tracked Janine's scent from the front door part way down the driveway, across the lawn, into the curb about 8ft from the tire track down the lawn Want.

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[Mike]

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[Mike]

I'm here on the job site with Dale who's a framing contractor. Hey, good morning. Dale traded up to Geico Commercial Auto Insurance for all his business vehicles.

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[Mike]

Yep, they sure are. We make it easy for him to save on all his insurance needs all in one place with coverage that fits his business and. And bottom line. Oh, I shouldn't have looked down. It's all right. We're so far up here.

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[Alison]

Take a deep breath.

[Mike]

No, I'm good. So good.

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[Alison]

So on Sunday, February 27, 1983. This is only two days after Janine vanished. Hikers found Janine's body in the heavy underbrush about 45ft off the hiking trail of the Illinois Prairie Pass path. This is between eola Road and I88, less than 10 miles from her home. She was lying face down on a slight incline and approximately two feet up into the left. Her head was. There was a, like a small head shaped depression in the ground and you could tell that this depression contained blood. So it's likely she moved a little bit after she had been placed there. There were leaves and mud on the back of Janine's head and the left side of her body was muddy. Her eyes were still covered with that towel that was taped to her head. And she wore only her pink night shirt, which was torn from the hem to the right armpit and it was pulled over her shoulders. And Pat testified that her daughter had been wearing underwear that day. It was gone. But just like with the blanket and the sheet that had been taken from Kathy's bed, Janine's underwear had never been found. So a coroner from Hamilton County, Ohio, this is Dr. Frank Cleveland. He conducted the autopsy and testified that Janine died from at least five extraordinarily powerful blows to the front and back side of her head from a blunt instrument. So each injury to the back of her head was characterized by a large laceration that became a V shape at one end. All blows were delivered quickly and any one of them would have been fatal. She also suffered from a broken nose, a split upper lip and severely bruised lower lip.

[Mike]

My, this was terrible.

[Alison]

This poor little girl had been absolutely brutalized.

[Mike]

Real quick, why a coroner from Ohio?

[Alison]

I don't know why they chose that. I really have no idea.

[Mike]

Yeah, it doesn't matter. But so terrible.

[Alison]

There was a small bruise to her left shoulder and abrasions on the upper back sides of her legs that were either inflicted after death or shortly before as blood was redirected in reaction to her head injuries. So it was determined that Janine had been raped and anally assaulted before her death. But too little semen had been recovered from her body to be of any evidentiary value. The contents of her stomach determined that she died two to four hours after eating and were consistent with what Pat indicated she had made her daughter for lunch that day. This indicates that she was abducted, raped and murdered sometime between 1 and 4pm that day. We know that Pat called her at about one, so sometime after that point. So there were no witnesses that directly observed Janine being abducted or murdered. So no one saw her being taken from her house. No one saw her being attacked at the Prairie Path. But two witnesses from the prosecution gave evidence that may have been related. This woman named Joan Johanville, she had lunch with her husband at their upholstery business. This just happened to be in the garage next door to the Nicaraco home. So she had left at about 1:10pm to drive home. And as she was passing the Nicaraco home, she actually had to stop her car to avoid colliding with another car that was driving strangely down the center street in the opposite direction. So she described the car as older, light blue or white with a lot of rust on the lower portion. Now I will tell you, moving forward, this isn't consistent with the way that other cars are being described. Green is the color that's more consistent. So the only person she saw in the car was a driver and she described his eyes as very creepy and scary. So when police initially spoke with Joan, she said that the man had no facial hair and he wore wire rimmed granny type glasses. So there was another witness, this is Frank Cochani, and he was a highway maintenance engineer for the Illinois Tollway Authority. And he indicated that when he and a co worker were out picking up trash alongside the eastbound lanes of East West Tollway between 2:45 and 3:00pm they saw a car driving at about 10 miles per hour. So very slowly. So the car did a three point turn and headed back east at a faster speed. So this was about a 1978 or 1979 green Ford Granada is what he believed it to be. He said it had a missing hubcap at the front driver's side wheel. And the driver was the only person in the car. He was a white male with dark sunglasses and he had hair that was mid down his ears or shorter. So there was a $10,000 reward that was offered for any information that could lead to an arrest in this case. So with this reward money offered, anonymous tips started coming flooding into the sheriff's Office. So one caller indicated that this man named Alex Hernandez, he's a young Hispanic man, about 19 years old, he lived in Aurora and he knew information about Janine's murder. So on March 4, Detective John Sam from the DuPage County Sheriff's Department, obviously he's going to follow up on this tip. He went over to visit Hernandez. And Hernandez had said that while he was drinking beer in a car one night with his friends, a man named Ricky suddenly began talking about killing Janine. Although Detective Sam never found this so called Ricky guy, he did find a man named Stephen Buckley, who Hernandez indicated was also with him in the car that night. So when Sam questioned Buckley, he showed him a photo of the boot print from the Carico front door. And Buckley told him, I have a pair of boots like that and they have a similar tread pattern, which to me is very strange because if you were responsible for this, would you so readily give this information?

[Mike]

Well, every week we do have horribly stupid criminals all the time. So, I mean, sometimes it's just right there, it's like, it's almost like he's proud of it. You know, it's like. That's what my thought might be, but. But oh man, if I'm. See, this is why it's hard to like talk to police sometimes, where it's like these, these cases of people that are innocent and possibly going to jail, it's like maybe he's trying to help, but then all of a sudden the cops like, ooh, maybe it's him, right?

[Alison]

And he, without any hesitation, he allowed Sam to take the boots to the crime lab. So at this point in time, the crime lab concluded that the pattern was not a match. However, the chief of the identification section who made this conclusion did not write a report about his findings for whatever reason, although he indicated that he had verbally discussed these findings with the DuPage County Sheriff. But to me, if you don't get things in writing, it's like it never happened, right? So you have to have things in.

[Mike]

Writing, especially a huge case like this.

[Alison]

Absolutely. So the boot was then sent to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, where a criminologist said that. That Buckley's boot probably made the print. And then years later, the FBI crime lab would say an opposite conclusion, that it did not match. So there was confusion there. So Sam, John Sam became progressively persuaded that Hernandez and Buckley were responsible for Janine's murder. They were questioned relentlessly in an attempt to secure confessions, but neither would admit to their involvement. One detective enlisted the help of a friend of Hernandez, who went by the name Penguin. So Penguin, Penguin, excuse me, was actually in the DuPage County Jail on a burglary charge at the time. So he wanted to get him talking with Hernandez to see if maybe he would boast or brag about something. So Hernandez was placed in a room with Penguin as well as a box of money. So this box of money was alleged. Allegedly. Easy for me to say, allegedly. The $10,000 reward that was associated with Janine's case. And you know, These are like 19 year old petty criminals. So $10,000 can be very, very enticing.

[Mike]

Absolutely. It's just sitting there.

[Alison]

So Penguin was assured that with his assistance, his burglary charges would be dropped, he could collect the reward money and settle down in Puerto Rico. And Hernandez was told that he could get a similar deal if he helped solve the case.

[Mike]

It's so slimy.

[Alison]

It is. And that's why it's a problem when these lies are told. Because if you're trying to get a false confession, it's a problem because the real killer is still out there.

[Mike]

If you've ever had the unfortunate opportunity to hang out with like, criminals, like people that are always criminals, they have no problem lying. No problem. Like no souls, basically. They just say whatever it takes to get whatever they want.

[Alison]

And you'll come to find that some of these guys are absolute compulsive liars.

[Mike]

Yeah, that's like their job. If you're a criminal, whatever you are, like, I've only met really one person that's like this. And it's like I stand there and look at them and they tell me to my face something I know is not Like I witnessed that this is not true what you're saying. And it's like, these people are just this, a total different breed. It's horrible.

[Alison]

And don't get me wrong, there's times I tell white lies. Like when Mike's like, oh, how much were those on Amazon? I might shave off about $10.

[Mike]

Right. But that's not hurting anybody.

[Alison]

But I'm never gonna look at Mike and tell me, tell them a blatant real lie.

[Mike]

Like, you're so gorgeous and handsome.

[Alison]

And you are gorgeous and handsome. And that's the truth.

[Mike]

She just said it.

[Alison]

So the point is, it's hard when you have a compulsive liar because you never know the difference between the truth and a lie. Without trust, you have nothing.

[Mike]

Yeah. And these are all criminals, so good luck.

[Alison]

So, John, Sam, of course, as these guys are sitting there with this box of money in front of them. And this promise that not only are they going to collect this money, but they're free to fly. Like birds. Words. So John's John. Sam is listening through a recording device as Alex Hernandez told Penguin that he and others had been involved in Janine's murder. As he said, I'll tell you how the girl was killed. I held her down. He said he could show police where the crime took place.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Alison]

Of course, police have factual information of where the crime took place. So. However, as police began driving Hernandez around from farmhouse to farmhouse, he was unable to find the correct house. Janine did not live in a farmhouse. She lived on a cul de sac in Naperville. So, of course, investigators knew that Janine had not been killed inside a house. And this was when Sam began to realize that Hernandez had nothing to do with Janine's murder. While he continued to believe that maybe Stephen Buckley was involved.

[Mike]

Because of the boot.

[Alison]

Because of the boot, which comes back around to be not even the case. So Detective Sam also started questioning another guy. This is a third guy, 19 year old guy, also from Aurora. This is Rolando Cruz. This is someone that Hernandez had also mentioned in relation to the murder, just as he had Stephen Buckley. So Cruz denied having anything to do with Janine's death, but he said that Hernandez told him that she had been raped and then murdered with a baseball bat and then kicked down the stairs of an Aurora apartment apartment building. So this is not at all consistent with what happened to Janine. Even the baseball bat idea wasn't. Yes, she was struck with a blunt object, but it was something small and sharp that came to a point. That's not a baseball bat. So DuPage county prosecutors, led by Assistant State Attorney Tom Knight, theorize that Cruz, Hernandez and Buckley went to the Nicaraco home to burglarize it. Because of course, it's Friday, it's the middle of the day, and if they had watched the house at all that they know that the parents are out working and the three daughters go to school.

[Mike]

Yeah. And there's a decent amount of money in Naperville, So it's a good opportunity to look out and stake a house out and be like, oh, nobody's there. Let's go take all their valuables.

[Alison]

And is it stupid to do something like this in broad daylight? Yes, of course. But you're also trying to avoid coming across people. Of course, if this was the case, they would have no idea that Janine was home with the flu that day. So as they came inside the house, to rob it. They unexpectedly came upon Janine. This was their theory.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Alison]

So they said with this, they raped and killed her so that she would. She would be unable to identify them. So as prosecutors were convinced that this was the correct theory, or theory. Excuse me, Detective Sam only became more and more uncertain.

[Mike]

Well, it's like, it's really jumping quite a bit. It's like there's. There's a person that's crazy and wants to, like, sexually assault, like, little kids, and then there's these petty theft people, you know, like, it's a different area. Sure, they overlap a little bit, maybe, but it's like these are two very separate, horrible things.

[Alison]

Right. And don't get me wrong, these are not straight edge guys. These are 19 year olds that have no problem going into a person's house and robbing you blindly. But like you just said, Detective Sam was like the idea that three burglars are suddenly child molester murderers was just a ridiculous idea. Idea in his mind.

[Mike]

Good for him.

[Alison]

So on March 9, 1984, a little bit more than a year after Janine's murder, a special grand jury indicted Cruz, Hernandez, and Buckley for murder, kidnapping, an aggravated criminal, sexual assault.

[Mike]

Based on what? Based on that confession.

[Alison]

That I will tell you. Based on very, very little. Yes, yes, Hernandez's confession. And we're talking about compulsive liars.

[Mike]

And this is the confession that when he was promised he'd be getting $10,000 and be able to do whatever he want. And like, that's the other thing. Like, police are allowed to lie to you, too. And they'll say whatever they want to me.

[Alison]

And if you've ever watched shows or heard podcasts where a person is being told, your DNA is in that house, and they're like, but I never went to that house. And they're hungry and they haven't slept in 24 hours. People start to go a little bonkers and then they falsely confess. Yeah.

[Mike]

And you know what? I have nothing but respect for police officers. Like, they put their lives in the line every single day. They're out there protecting us. But, like, you know, some of them aren't the nicest.

[Alison]

Well, to me, it shouldn't be legal to lie about evidence. You should not be able to look someone in the face and say, your DNA is in that house. We know you were in that house.

[Mike]

Yeah, but then you're going against somebody who can lie all the time. It's like, it's not fair.

[Alison]

But false confessions are a problem. So their trials began in early January of 1985. And as the details of the case were presented, some of the jurors clearly and obviously and understandably broke out in tears and became physically ill because they're hearing about all the details that this little 10 year old girl went through.

[Mike]

They're very, very horrible. I surprised we didn't do a little trigger warning. It was bad.

[Alison]

So just the brutality and the randomness of this crime. So at one point, Janine's father said, it's the boogeyman come to life. There is a boogeyman. It's for real. So John, Sam, despite his doubts at their guilt, hoped that the indictments and the threats of the death penalty would push one of the men to confess or implicate the others to save their own skin. They didn't. So Sam knew that these three were petty burglars, not tough hardened criminals. So his doubts were through the roof, proof. So Sam was so positive that these three guys were innocent that after an 11 year career, he actually resigned from the sheriff's department so that he would be able to testify on their behalf.

[Mike]

Wow.

[Alison]

Yes.

[Mike]

That's a man of like whatever. I don't know. The word is honor. Honor, yeah, for sure.

[Alison]

So the chief evidence against Buckley was this. Boot prints from the front door of the Nicarago home while Penguin testified about his conversations with Hernandez in the county jail. And like you were reminding, there was $10,000 in freedom that was being promised to him when he started blabbing his mouth. So I will tell you that Hernandez's cousin also told the court that he had also confessed to him. However, those that he allegedly confessed to, each of the stories varied greatly. And when you're telling the truth, your story is not changing. I always say that it's when you're telling lies that you have to remember. Wait, what did I say to who?

[Mike]

Or when you're crafting a story. Oh, this actually sounds better.

[Alison]

Right. So the primary witness against Stephen Buckley was a North Carolina professor who claimed that he had the ability to determine who had made the boot print by examining the impression that the foot leaves inside the shoe. So this person, she said it was Buckley who had left the print on the Nakara Co's door. However, the jury was unable to reach a verdict about his guilt, Buckley's guilt, so the charges against him were actually dismissed. So now at this point in time, we're dealing with just Hernandez and Cruz. So after seven weeks with very little to no evidence other than these confessions, the jury found Cruz and Hernandez guilty. And on March 15, 1985, Judge Edward Cowell sentenced them to death.

[Mike]

Wow, that is crazy. And I will say there's probably a little element of racism going on here, too. Like, Naperville is a very white community. And then you've got, like, three guys with Hispanic last names here, and it's probably a jury filled with white people. You know, it's just there's. There's probably an element. This is back in the 80s, you know, there's probably, like, these people are coming in and whatever. Just. Yeah, you hate to hear about that. But with such little evidence, Death, like a death sentence. That's crazy.

[Alison]

Yeah. So the following month, they were moved to death row at Menard Correctional center in southern Illinois, situated right along the Mississippi. Excuse me, the Missouri border along the Mississippi River. So under Illinois law, all capital cases are automatically appealed to the state supreme court, and the court appoints a state appellate. Is that. Am I saying that? Thank you, Appellate defender to represent each of them. So with this being said, In July of 1985, Tim Gabrielson and John Hanlon were appointed to represent Cruz Cruz, while Larry Essig was representing Hernandez. So now these guys are looking at the case. And initially, in their minds, there was no reason to believe that the men had been wrongfully convicted. However, as they continued to review the documents and we're talking about 11, 000 pages of trial transcripts, it became very clear how little evidence that the state had against them. And it was their opinion that there was absolutely no smoking gun. The evidence was extremely weak, and there was no doubt that the prosecution failed to prove that they had been guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. I mean, the guys are reading this, like, what do they even have them on?

[Mike]

Well, you think of Illinois and you think of Chicago, and you think of, like, dirty politics, and you think of the people that probably good old Boys Club there, that's like, yeah, we're going to get these guys. We need somebody to pay for the stuff. The community's freaking out. We need to put it on somebody. These guys are them.

[Alison]

So Gabriel Sin and Essig zeroed in on the fact that Judge Cowell had refused to grant the three defendants separate trials. So the prosecution argued that it was one single crime, not three, that had been committed, while the defense argued that the case against one defendant would jeopardize the fair trials for the others. This was something that Cowell, the judge, did not agree with. He rejected.

[Mike]

He's a part of the good old boys club Club.

[Alison]

So witness testimonies were jumbled during the trial as some witnesses indicated that Hernandez told them that he and his friends committed the murder, while others said that Cruz admitted doing the crime with friends. So the references of the defendants were just indirect, they didn't directly implicate them and the lawyers couldn't cross examine witnesses on these points. So it was just kind of jumbled in a bit of a movie mess. So now we're backtracking to November of 1985. This is eight months after Cruz and Hernandez were found guilty. Gabriel Sin spoke with a man named George Mueller. He is a Lal county public defender. And he told him that on July 5, 1985, this man, a 29 year old named Brian Dugan, who had been arrested for the rape and murder of a seven year old little girl named Melissa Ackerman in LaSalle county in June of 1985, had fully confessed to Janine's murder. So going to Melissa ackerman's case, on June 2, 1985, seven year old Melissa or Missy Ackerman and her friend were doing what seven year old little girls do in the summertime. They were riding their bikes on the outskirts of Samanock, which is a village in DeKalb in LaSalle counties. This is less than an hour's drive from where Janine lived with her family in Naperville. So this 29 year old monster named Brian Dugan snatched these two little girls off their bikes and he had been driving down the road when he came upon them randomly. And despite the fact that he had placed both girls into his car, Missy's friend who was with her that day, managed to escape through a window of his car her. But tragically, Missy was sodomized and then drowned. And two weeks later her body was found. So Brian Dugan was a high school dropout from East Aurora High School and he became known as a burglar who would kick in front doors of homes in order to gain access to them. That was like his signature move.

[Mike]

I've got a couple things lining up already.

[Alison]

So he had served four years in Bernard Correctional Facility for arson and burglary and then he was released in on parole in 1982. But then he was arrested again and imprisoned at Joliet Correctional Center. So then only six months after his release was when Janine was murdered. So Brian Dugan was arrested one day after Missy's murder because of course her friend had survived this attack, she had climbed out and she had ran for help. So he's arrested one day later and then not only did he confess to her murder, but he also confessed to the murder of another woman, Donna Schnorr. So this occurred one year earlier, and then he also confessed to Janine's murder. And this happened two years earlier. If you're an H VAC technician and a call comes in, Granger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is the a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. So Donna Schnorr, she was a 27 year old nurse from Geneva, Illinois. And she was driving home from a party on a rural road in Kane county at about 3am on July 15, 1989. 84. So as she is driving down this quiet dark road in the middle of the night, Dugan comes upon her and sideswipes her car. So he basically forced her off the road and then he tied her up, he raped her, and he murdered her.

[Mike]

Jesus, man, what a scumbag. And this is also monster. 27 years old, that's not his, you know, his normal target.

[Alison]

Right.

[Mike]

Interesting.

[Alison]

It seems like he has no discrimination and as to who he's willing to attack, anybody, somebody 7 year old, 27 year old, 10 year old.

[Mike]

He sees somebody, he goes after them.

[Alison]

He doesn't care. So Donna's father was so shocked and grief stricken and distraught by word of his daughter's murder that he actually went into cardiac arrest and died later that same year.

[Mike]

Wow.

[Alison]

So Dugan's confessions came about four months after Cruz and Hernandez had been found guilty and had been sentenced to death for Janine's murder. And he's saying, no, it was me. So of course we do know that these sickos like to get credits. And what we talked about, that one guy, his name is jumping out of my head, but I think he confessed to like 600 crimes and he committed like maybe five.

[Mike]

It was when he was known for that.

[Alison]

Right. So it's like they also have to take that into account that he might.

[Mike]

Not have done it and he just wants to get some kind of notoriety from it. Yeah.

[Alison]

So he indicated that not only was he responsible for the three murders, we just mentioned Donna, Missy and Janine, but he had also raped three other women. Demi Peterson, Sharon Grajek, and Cheryl Weaver.

[Mike]

The Close. The. The faster we can get this guy out of society, the better.

[Alison]

And this is like a 20 something year old. So Mueller reached out to DuPage county prosecutors that his clients could be tied to Janine's case, but they were skeptical. They thought maybe he was lying, so they thought he was falsely confessing. Maybe he wanted something out of it. Maybe he wanted a plea deal. Maybe he learned the details of the crime due to his extent, due to its extensive media cover.

[Mike]

Well, at the same time, in the back rooms, they're like, actually, we have more on this guy than the people that are currently on death row for this case.

[Alison]

So this is really smart, because Mueller was given a list of questions that only Janine's killer would have the answers to. Perfect. And he was sent to speak with Dugan. So an hour later, he came out, he had all the answers, he handed the paper over, and he was told, we'll get back to you. So in the meantime, we'll get back to you.

[Mike]

It's like, it's right there. Like, it's like you have it in front of you. You know the answers. Is it him?

[Alison]

Exactly. In the meantime, Dugan took a plea deal for life for the murders of Missy Ackerman and Donna Schnorr, as well as the three other rapes. And on November 18, or, excuse me, November 19, 1985, he was sentenced to two life sentences plus 215 years.

[Mike]

And ideally in prison. He gets the crap kicked off.

[Alison]

I hope so. I mean, you're. You're murdering and raping children. You should be destroyed.

[Mike]

Oh, and the guards would love to just look away and let it happen, right?

[Alison]

Isn't it interesting that he didn't get sentenced to death for these horrible of things that he did?

[Mike]

Different states. No, he's still in Illinois.

[Alison]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Yeah, that's weird.

[Alison]

So anyway, he's going to be spending the rest of his life behind bars, but is he connected to Janine's murder? Are these two guys, Hernandez and Cruz, innocent? So by November, this is six months after Mueller handed over that paper with Brian Dugan's answers. No one had gotten back to him. So he was just wondering, maybe DuPage county didn't want to hear anything because it would make them look really bad.

[Mike]

That's not a maybe. That's a 100%. The judge looks bad. Every prosecutor, every cop that was involved that put these guys there look horrible.

[Alison]

So the fact that they would have wrongfully convicted two men and sent them to death row wouldn't have been a good look. So Maybe they were going to keep everything a little quiet real quick.

[Mike]

What happened to Buckley? He wasn't sentenced?

[Alison]

No. They dismissed the charges against him. So regardless of the fact that Dugan had nothing at this point in time, nothing to benefit from his confession because he's going to spend the rest of his life in jail, he maintained even after his sentencing that he was responsible for Janine's murder. So during a conversation with state police investigator, he recalled each gory detail about what he had done to Janine, and really, it all seemed to check out. So he spoke of the serrated tape that he used to secure the towel over Janine's eyes. This was something that had never been disclosed.

[Mike]

That's very detailed.

[Alison]

It is. So investigators confirmed that he even gave them the name of the pharmacy where he had purchased that tape. And they went in and they saw, yeah, they do sell it.

[Mike]

He wants this. He wants this credit bad, right?

[Alison]

He does. And it could just be. It's not like he's a good guy. That's like, oh, I want to get these two guys off of death row.

[Mike]

Oh, no, he wants the credit. Let's not.

[Alison]

He doesn't care about humanity. So he also told them that he unsuccessfully tried to penetrate the young girl's vagina, but then raped her anally. Another detail that was confirmed by the pathologist that had never been released. Released. The pathologist also said that the injuries to Janine's head could have come from a tire iron. This was also something that Dugan confessed. So although the murder weapon was never found, investigators determined that the tire iron that came with the car that Dugan drove. This is a green 1980 Plymouth Volaire, could have made the marks to her head that were seen on her autopsy. So one witness described seeing a dark green car near the Prairie Path with a missing hubcap. And these were details that were consistent with Dugan's car. So the worker thought he saw a Ford, but Dugan drove a Plymouth. I will tell you, both car bodies, their styles are very similar and could be easily confused. So the witnesses also indicated that the man in the green car was a white male in his late 20s. 20s. This was also a description that matched Dugan rather than Cruz or Hernandez, who are Hispanic. You know, that's very different. They were darker skinned. They were only 19 years old. So work records also confirmed that Dugan had missed work on the day that Janine had been murdered. So Dugan not only told investigators, or I should say that he not only took them to the Nicaraco home Now, keep in mind, when Hernandez was trying to take them around, he had zero idea. And then Cruz is saying that she was kicked down the apartment steps.

[Mike]

Yeah. Like Dugan is showing you everything. He's like, I can prove every little thing. I could probably tell you things about this you don't even know. And then you'll find them true. Like it was me. Here's the reasons.

[Alison]

So he took them to the Nicaraco's home where she had been abducted. He had also taken her them to the location where she had been murdered and where her body had been found. Owned his lengthy criminal record included abductions that involved concealing his victims by wrapping them in sheets or blankets. Or burglaries where he gained entry by kicking in the front door. Both of which were consistent with Janine's case. Now, I will tell you that there were some mistakes in some of the details that Dugan recounted. So he told investigators that he moved his car onto the driveway in order to get closer to the house. House. He failed to notice that there had been a sailboat parked there. But mind you, it's the middle of the afternoon and he's in the midst of a child abduction. Maybe he failed to see the sailboat that was parked there.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Alison]

So he remembered where the stairs were in their house, but he reversed the location of the stairs that went to the second floor with those that went to the basement. He said that he left Janine's body face up, but she had actually been found face down. He said that she had nail polish on her toes, but when her body was exhumed, there was no trace of polish on her toenails. However, her autopsy report indicated that she did have polish on her fingernails. So maybe he just got the details muddled. So these inconsistencies. Confess. Excuse me. Convinced the Nicaracos that Dugan was just lying. And In April of 1987, they held a press conference to dispute his confession while maintaining that they believe that the men were found guilty, Cruz and Hernandez were the right men, and that they were behind bars where they needed to be. They cited more than 25 various errors in Dugan's story, including his original claim that he abducted Janine at 11am we know for sure that's not true because Pat came home and made lunch and then later called her and talked to her on the phone, as well as the incorrect details about reversing the stairs that went upstairs versus to the basement.

[Mike]

Yeah, it's a lot of errors.

[Alison]

Is so they felt someone had fed him information, so he did know a lot, they believed, because someone had fed him information. So In December of 1987, Alex, Hernandez's cousin, he is the one that testified that Hernandez had confessed to him. He recanted his testimony and said, no, Alex never confessed to the crime.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Alison]

He indicated that he had only been. He'd only done so because he had. Had been scared into it by prosecutors.

[Mike]

Wow.

[Alison]

So in early 1988, scientific analysis of hair samples that were taken from Janine's blindfold strongly implicated Dugan. So the analysis revealed two abnormalities. One described as fairly rare in the sample that was consistent with Dugan's hair, but not consistent with Hernandez and Cruz. So things are just only stacking up as time goes on. So since the state is legally required to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, defense attorney Michael Metnick was bewildered that the state ever even pursued the case against them, something that he believes is truly morally dishonest. So this raised questions about the potential danger of imposing the death penalty, since two likely innocent people could have come close to execute execution. So the death penalty has since been abolished in Illinois, which occurred on March 9, 2011. So on January 19, 1988, this is nearly three years after they had been found guilty. The Supreme Court ruled that the DuPage county judge should have granted Cruz and Hernandez separate trials versus one together. So with this, their convictions were overturned while new trials were ordered.

[Mike]

So they're trying to be like, okay, let's find a way out of it without saying that we are wrong.

[Alison]

Yes.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Alison]

So, however, the court somehow rejected their contentions that the prosecution failed to prove them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, even.

[Mike]

Though there's a jury there. Like, the jury said they were guilty. Right?

[Alison]

Right. But you can be persuaded into hearing things. You have that woman on the stand saying, you know, this matches or whatever.

[Mike]

The jury's the one that put him away, and confessions.

[Alison]

You know, you have Hernandez's cousin sitting up there saying, he told me he did this.

[Mike]

Yeah. I mean, the. It's. It seemed like there probably was for the jury, at least. Yeah. I don't know.

[Alison]

So two years later, Cruz was retried in 1990, and once again, he was convicted and sentenced to death. The following year, in 1991, Hernandez was once again convicted. This time, he was sentenced to 80 years in prison rather than to death. So on December 4, 1992, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the conviction and dense. Excuse me, death sentence, sentence for Rolando Cruz, indicating that the errors in the trial were harmless in light of what they considered to be overwhelming physical evidence. So this sparked a public outcry as even prosecutors admitted that there was no physical evidence that overwhelming either. Well, like there's none, none, literally none that linked either of them to the crime.

[Mike]

At the press conference, I'd be like, name one piece of overwhelming evidence. Evidence.

[Alison]

They're lying, right? You know. So on July 14, 1994, three new justices had joined the Illinois Supreme Court, and the Court reversed the December 1992 ruling against Cruz and overturned his conviction after finding several errors in the trial. So six months later, in January of 1995, Alex Hernandez's conviction was also reversed and another trial was ordered. So new testing of DNA excluded Cruz, Hernandez and Buckley as the rape of rapists, while they implicated Dugan. Only three men in 10,000, including Dugan, possess that particular DNA. So Cruz's retrial began in October of 1995 and focused on a vision statement that Cruz supposedly made on May 9, 1983, something that neither detectives more nor prosecutors had any written record of happening. They're saying it happened. There's no written record of it. So in this statement, he allegedly described how the crime had occurred that included details that only the perpetrator would know. However, detectives admitted that there was a lot of confusion in regards to the date it even happened, this vision statement. So they're saying, oh, yeah, it was on this date. But detective schedules proved that that wasn't possible. One detective that was involved had been traveling to Florida at the time that the statement was given. So you can't rely on it whatsoever. So Judge Ronald Mailing found Rolando Cruz not guilty, and he was released from prison where he had spent 12 years initially on unrelated burglary charges, and then for the crimes against Janine. So In December of 1995, prosecutors also dismissed all charges against Alex Hernandez.

[Mike]

You know what sucks? Like, these guys aren't good guys. Like we said before, they're, they're criminals and, you know, totally fine with taking things that aren't theirs. But in the meantime, now that they're going to have an opportunity to sue the county or whatever, and they're going to get millions of dollars and probably rightfully so. But like, these people are still not great people and they're, now they're being reward, even though, I mean, they were put in jail wrongfully, but still, it's a, it's a terrible scenario, right?

[Alison]

It is. So the following year, on December 12, 1996, a grand jury returned a 47 count indictment against seven people charging perjury, obstruction of justice, official misconduct, and conspiracy. So These people ended up being known as the DuPage 7. So Detectives Thomas Vosberg and Dennis Kazuua, Lieutenant James Montesano and Lieutenant Robert Winkler, as well as prosecutors Patrick King, Thomas Knight and Robert Curlander.

[Mike]

This is the good old boys network we I referenced.

[Alison]

Yeah, so they were all, you know, held in this. So they had a trial that was held in late spring of 1999. They relied heavily on testimony of Cruz, a known pathological liar who lied about basic facts that were known to be not true, such as his age and his military background.

[Mike]

It's like the, these criminals have an M.O. like they're, they're, their default is lying.

[Alison]

Right. So these do. Page seven were found not guilty.

[Mike]

So not guilty. Okay, awesome. So they all get their pensions and they all live a great life. Like go to hell. Go God. Man, that sucks.

[Alison]

So In September of 2000, a civil suit filed by Cruz, Hernandez and Buckley was settled by DuPage county, like you had said, for three and a half million.

[Mike]

Yeah, makes sense.

[Alison]

So in November of 2002, an announcement was made that new DNA testimony established with scientific certainty that Brian Dugan was involved in Janine's murder.

[Mike]

Okay, so like the 3 out of 10,000 is only like.003%, I think. But like I want something like 1 out of 5 million, you know, like the certainty, like this is. No doubt about it, it was Dugan.

[Alison]

Yep. So when the DuPage County Sheriff's Office, the Naperville Police and the FBI began investigating Janine's case back in 1983, Alex Hernandez and Rolando Cruz, they lied to police about their knowledge of the crime. And what this did was it diverted the entire investigation away from the real killer. Alex Hernandez was said to have an IQ between 73 and 85, which is classified as borderline intellectual functioning. While Rolando Cruz admitted that he was lying and playing with police during this time, he was like, kind of treated like a king. He was put up in a Four Seasons motel. He apparently hosted glue sniffing parties in this hotel room.

[Mike]

That sounds fun.

[Alison]

And he test drove Cadillacs that he planned to purchase after he was given this ten thousand dollar reward money. You know, these are not the most intelligent people.

[Mike]

No, that's in. The police took advantage of that.

[Alison]

Right. So although many people initially believe that Brian Dugan was fabricating his story of being responsible for Janine's murder, DNA evidence proved that his version of events are true. So it's believed that some of the details that he recounted were incorrect because he was high on marijuana at the time he attacked Her. So maybe some of the details had been a little bit fuzzy. There was also the possibility of collusion, since, incidentally, he, Cruz, Hernandez, and Buckley were all incarcerated in the DuPage County Jail at the same time after Janine's murder.

[Mike]

Interesting.

[Alison]

Dugan was there on unrelated burglary charges, so they could have had contact with one another. But now this DNA comes back to say for sure it was him. So there was a lot of animosity that Cruz and Hernandez had inserted themselves into Janine's case case. And this was a major, major problem because this allowed the real killer, Brian Dugan, to remain a free man, and this allowed him to murder two more innocent victims.

[Mike]

Weren't they inserting themselves so that they can get this $10,000? So, like, let's not, like, play games here. It's the police and investigators fault for doing this. They're taking advantage of these idiot criminals. One that's borderline like, special needs. It's like you're taking advantage of the situation, being like, you got $10,000 if you just say what we want you to say. And they're trying to pin it on these horrible criminals. Like, if you're expecting criminals to do the right thing, you're doing the wrong thing.

[Alison]

Right. I agree with that wholeheartedly. But the point is, two additional innocent victims, Missy Ackerman and Donna Schnorr, as well as these three other women that he raped, were collateral damage because he was allowed to wreak havoc on the world.

[Mike]

Yes. And that is the fault of the investigators and police of Dupage county that in the Dupage County 7, it's not the criminal criminals. That's like, let's not try. That's what I get pissed off about. It's because these a holes are going after these criminals. Be like, we got our guys, we got somebody.

[Alison]

But they did lie.

[Mike]

Yeah, for sure. Because they're criminals. Like, what do you expect?

[Alison]

So they did pay for their lies by spending more than a decade behind bars for a crime that they had nothing to do with. But they also walked away with three and a half million dollars to split between the three of them.

[Mike]

Yeah, you know, I'd rather not be in jail.

[Alison]

So In November of 2005, a DuPage county grand jury indicted Dugan for Janine's murder.

[Mike]

Murder.

[Alison]

In July of 2008, he dropped his demand that prosecutors forego seeking the death sentence. And he entered a plot. Excuse me, a blind plea of guilty. He was sentenced to death in November of 2009, and he spent nearly 16 months on death row until March of 2011. This is when Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation that abolished the Illinois death penalty. So his sentence was just changed to life in prison without the possibility of parole. So. So this disgusting human being, if you even want to call him human, will be dying in prison where he deserves to die. So after Janine's horrific murder, her family created the Janine Nicaraco Memorial Fund for Literacy. Because she so much loved to read, they did this in 1996 to provide grants for educators, schools and organizations that promote literacy. In 2001, Janine's family and friends, as well as the community organized an annual race that they named the Glow RA Race, which is stands for Give Literacy an Opportunity to Win. This was a 5k and since it was called the glow race, they transitioned it where they would do it at night time and everyone would wear like day glow stuff, glow sticks. And the turnouts were amazing. I watched a lot of news coverage on this.

[Mike]

Well, it sounds like a lot of fun and a great reason to do so.

[Alison]

And for more than 20 years, they held this race to honor Janine and support literacy as well as fitness and family. The last event was held in 2023. They knew that they couldn't just do it forever, but they did it for a very long time and they raised a lot of money. So according to her sisters, Kathy and Chris, in her short 10 years of life, Janine was always a person who stepped up to help someone who needed that boost. The idea that they were able to give back to the community for two decades, decades, was something that they know that their sister would be very proud of and what she would have wanted. So Janine was the peacemaker of the family. She was the type of kid who just wanted everyone to get along. She really brought the positive into every situation. She was a kind, giggly and happy child. Her family can only wonder how the life that she would have continued to live would have turned out. She would now be a woman in her 50s. What would her life have looked like? Like those are things they can only wander. Because Janine never had the chance to graduate, to find her first true love, to get married, to have kids, if that's what she wanted to do. She never had any of those chances. Chris and Kathy see a lot of their sister in their two respective children. Sadly, Pat Nicaraco passed away at 80 years old in September of 2023 after a five year battle with ovarian cancer. And that is a truly sad and tragic murder of 10 year old Janine.

[Mike]

Nicaraco I mean, little kids are the future. It's just like, you know, we were having coffee the other day at a Starbucks, and a little kid was just running around. And I just, like, commented, like, that's so pure and innocent to see it. What was the kid, probably a year or two old?

[Alison]

Oh, she was maybe two.

[Mike]

Yeah. So she was just running around just like, you know, little kids that are 2 years old just, like, run everywhere. So, like, you know, there's that age and even up to, you know, Janine was. When she was 10, like, she was. All she was doing was staying home sick, watching horrible television like we have all done in the 80s, you know, and just like, talking to her mom and eating a little lunch and writing.

[Alison]

Her grandparents letters, in the middle of.

[Mike]

Writing a letter, and just gets abducted and horribly assaulted.

[Alison]

And the horror of hearing someone at the door, and then suddenly the door gets violently kicked open. And everything that happens after that moment is just unimaginable.

[Mike]

How scared she must have been. And all the kids that this scumbag had, unfortunately ruining their lives and taking their lives.

[Alison]

Oh, it was a horrible, horrible monster.

[Mike]

Yeah. And I've always been a fan of the death penalty, but once I learned that it cost us more than as a society monetarily, I was like, fine, just leave him in prison forever. As long as I. And Dugan is still there in prison and hopefully gets his skull bashed in repeatedly.

[Alison]

Well, he's been there for quite a.

[Mike]

While, so that's a horrible, horrible story.

[Alison]

Anyway, our hearts truly go out to the Nicariko family because Jeanine sounded like just a truly remarkable little girl.

[Mike]

And what an amazing thing, that glow situation, like, so cool. I'm sure, I'm positive, like, Janine somehow helped people to learn to read through that whole thing. That's such a beautiful thing. She's no longer here. She'll never breathe again, but maybe her soul can get into these kids and learn to read. And then the love of reading, it's such a beautiful thing.

[Alison]

It really is, for sure. Because just like Janine, she was, like, not really into it, and then she just met the right teacher, and that teacher helped her turn that light on. That was like, wow, I love this.

[Mike]

Yeah. So cool. So, yeah, thanks for telling our story and thank you for listening. And whether you're, you know, supporting us on YouTube or listening on a podcast platform, we really appreciate it. We. Every single Sunday, you got a free episode coming to you, and on Wednesdays, we release bonus episodes. So if you love what we do and want to hear more. There's tons of bonus episodes available for. For you through Patreon or Apple subscriptions or. Yeah, whatever you want to do.

[Alison]

Yeah. So we thank you guys. We hope you have a wonderful week. Please stay safe. And until next time, bye.