WREX.com – Rockford’s News LeaderFamily alleges corruption, negligence in Mary Jane Reed case

Family alleges corruption, negligence in Mary Jane Reed case

By Dani Maxwell

OREGON (WREX) - The Mary Jane Reed Foundation wants federal investigators to look into a 60-year-old murder case, claiming local investigators were negligent and/or corrupt.

Reed and Stanley Skridla were murdered in Ogle County in 1948.  Their killer was never found.  Reed's body was exhumed in 2005 so investigators could take another look, and the Ogle County Sheriff's Department did come up with two "persons of interest," but didn't pursue it because they are both dead.

The foundation, which includes Mary Jane's brother, Warren and former Oregon Mayor Mike Arians, have been involved in a long court battle with the county, trying to get documents from the investigation and even Mary Jane's body.  Now that they have those, they want someone else to look over the evidence.  The foundation sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald requesting a formal investigation of Illinois State Police District 2 and the Ogle County Sheriff, Coroner, and State's Attorney's offices.

Reed and Arians claim those offices violated federal and state crime victim's civil rights laws, desecrated the remains of Mary Jane, and didn't disclose material facts and evidence from the court-ordered exhumation and post-mortem investigation. Arians said in a news conference Wednesday, "If, in fact we can prove that there was desecration to Mary Jane Reed's body after her death while it was under the care, custody, and control of the Ogle County officials and their agents that will create further implications on who the individual was that murdered her."

Arians says x-rays prove the skull Mary Jane was buried with wasn't hers.  The foundation says its criminal profilers think two or three people are involved in the murder.