She Was Found Stabbed To Death In A Field And 49 Years Later Her Killer Has Been Arrested
Naperville, Illinois. On July 8th, 1972, 15-year-old Julie Ann Hanson’s brother loaned her his bicycle so she could ride over to watch a local baseball game.
When Julie failed to come home after the game was done, her family reported her as missing.
The Naperville Police Department began investigating Julie’s disappearance and neighbors came together to help look for the teen girl.
The day after Julie went missing, her bike was found, but there still was no sign of her.
“The bike was discovered on a gravel road off 87th Street and Knoch Knolls Road,” Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall said at a press conference.
Not long after the bicycle Julie had borrowed from her brother was found, so was her body. She was lying dead in a field near Modaff Road.
“That was the following day after Julie went missing. We conducted a search of the area, found her body, and she was deceased…and had been stabbed multiple times,” Chief Marshall explained.
The hunt for Julie’s killer was now on, but it would take 49 long years to catch that man responsible for taking her life.
Naperville Police Department; pictured above is 15-year-old Julie Ann Hanson
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“People often call these types of cases cold cases. This was never a cold case for our police department,” Chief Marshall continued.
“We continually investigated this case throughout those 49 years.”
“We were all conscious of Julie’s murder, looking for the killer, and we had Julie’s picture on our desks and investigations for all these years.”
As the years went by, the Naperville Police Department kept following up on tips and crossing suspects off their list.
DNA became more advanced as time passed, and finally, they got the break they were looking for through using genetic genealogy.
The evidence led right to 76-year-old Barry Lee Whelpley, who was living in Mounds View, Minnesota.
Back in 1972, Barry was 27-years-old, and he lived just a mile from where Julie’s house was.
Naperville Police Department; pictured above is Barry Lee Whelpley in his mugshot
A few days ago on June 2nd, Barry was arrested in Minnesota and charged with three counts of First-Degree Murder.
Barry’s bond has been set at $10,000,000 and he is currently waiting to be extradited back to Illinois.
In a Facebook group called Naperville Central Class of 1975 – ’75 and friends, people from Julie’s community stopped to remember her after the news of Barry’s arrest was made public.
“I lived on a farm not to far from crime. She was so sweet. Will never forget it.”
“…Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Many of us will never forget this horrific tragedy. So very sad. Julie was such a terrific, kind person. Rest In Peace Julie. Peace to her family as well.
“I remember when this happened. I was a year older & made me change my ways of walking & biking alone. Amazing what they can do with dna & genealogy on these cold cases.”
“Hanson’s lived four doors from us. My dad drove out looking for Julie when she didn’t return home as her parents were out of town.”
“As kids, we all rode our bikes out on Modaff Road — I used to help the Meisinger’s gather eggs in exchange for riding their pony.”
“I was only 10 at that time and always felt safe riding the then dirt Modaff Road. Sad time for all of us. I called that day the “end of the age of innocence.” Naperville was the hometown where we left our doors unlocked, our yards didn’t have fences separating them, and all the neighbors knew each other…well.”
“That night was the first night we locked our house up tight at night. Mrs. Hanson passed away in 2019 — but I know our Naperville police never forgot this case and always worked to find out who. Scary to know he lived within a mile of us. But thankful to have resolution after almost 50 years.”
“Finally after all these years. Thanks to Naperville Police Department for never giving up. Julie was a classmate, friend and unfortunately, a number of us were at Hanson’s house when the police drove up to deliver the terrible news after Julie’s body being found. I too have never forgot about Julie and her tragic passing. May she forever rest in peace.”
If you have any information regarding Julie’s case, please contact the Naperville Police Department at (630) 420-6665.
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