A SUPPOSEDLY innocent man who spent 60 years in jail for murder has been dealt a further blow after bombshell DNA evidence that could clear him was deemed not sufficient for a complete exoneration.

And Chester Weger’s attorney fears the use of new forensic analysis to finally solve the mysterious Starved Rock murder case could also be denied.

Chicago based lawyer Andy Hale is refusing to give up hope on clearing Weger, who will be 85 this month, of any involvement in the brutal killings of three women in March 1960.

The U.S. Sun revealed late last year how Hale believed new genetic genealogy testing proved a strand of hair found on one of the victims, Francis Murphy, belonged to an unnamed man from the area close to the Illinois national park.

But with Will County state attorney James Glasgow refusing to accept the recent development and maintain Weger — who was released from prison in 2020 and is desperate to be cleared of any wrongdoing — was correctly convicted for the crimes in 1961, Hale wanted to return to the lab and carry out more tests.

He believes some wood found at the scene could be from a baseball bat used by the murderers to bludgeon the women to death.

Weger was working in a kitchen at Starved Rock on the day of the tragedy, and although he admitted to one killing, he later retracted the admission amid claims of police brutality.

The U.S Sun has seen a letter from Hale to Glasgow, expressing his incredulity at the decision to ignore the DNA evidence and his demands for yet further testing.

The attorney wanted red fibers and more hair sent for examination by forensic testing experts Microtrace, the company founded by legendary microscopist Skip Palenik.

“He has worked on a ton of huge cases with incredible results,” enthused Hale.

Glasgow, however, told Hale on Thursday night to put any requests before a judge, but The U.S. Sun understands it’s highly unlikely permission will be granted.

Palenik and his team, which includes his son Chris, would forensically examine evidence — ordinarily trace evidence — under all types of high powered microscopes.

Yet Hale, who needs state permission to access the evidence, fears Glasgow is sticking to Illinois statutes which decree only certain tests on prisoners are allowed to be undertaken and is very downbeat about the situation.

In a 78-page motion to dismiss filed with the LaSalle County Court which was released earlier this month, Glasgow argued that Weger was in fact guilty of killing Lillian Oetting, one of three women found bludgeoned to death at the state park.

“[Weger’s] repeated insistence that the ‘false confession’ was the only evidence against him is simply not true,” Glasgow assistant Colleen Griffin wrote.

They also argued that the Othram findings still didn’t prove his innocence.

“That it did not match [Weger’s] hair did not mean that [Weger] did not commit this crime,” they wrote. “The people would add that [Weger’s] trial cannot be judged by 2024 standards and law but by the standards and law in effect [when Weger stood trial] in 1961.”

Yet Hale is aghast at their refusal to accept the DNA results from the Othram lab in Texas.

He suspects a possible pay-out for wrongful incarceration could cost the state a maximum of $120 million and is one reason why Will County are refusing to exonerate Weger.

He also cannot understand why, in the search for justice, Glasgow is resistant to bringing Microtrace on-board.

“Chester Weger should have a full and fair opportunity to prove his innocence.”

Andy Hale, Weger’s attorney

“It’s extremely frustrating that the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office is objecting to these forensic examinations. What are they afraid of?” Hale told The U.S. Sun.

“Chester Weger should have a full and fair opportunity to prove his innocence.

“These wood pieces found at the crime scene could have broken off a baseball bat used to kill the three women. Why would Will County be opposed to us finding that out? Because Chester’s false confession makes no mention of a baseball bat?”

Hale said he “has no choice” but to continue to demand testing evidence, and that Weger, whose case was the subject of an HBO documentary produced by Mark Wahlberg’s production company, deserves a “full and fair opportunity to prove his innocence.”

“We all agree this case is a search for truth,” wrote Hale. “The forensic examinations we have requested will significantly help with that search.”

Oetting and her friends Mildred Lindquist and Frances Murphy were on a girls’ trip and had been hiking on March 14, 1960, when they were bludgeoned more than 100 times in what was described as the most brutal of killings.

Weger, who suffered 24 failed attempts to prove his innocence, was convicted of killing 50-year-old Oetting, despite subsequent evidence pointing to a possible mob hit.

Prosecutors chose not to try him for the deaths of her friends Mildred Lindquist, 50, and Frances Murphy, 47, after he was sentenced to life in prison in 1961.

The U.S. Sun contacted Will State’s Attorney Office, but they refused to comment.