Charles Lachman's Footprints in the Snow is the definitive history of the oldest cold case ever to be adjudicated in the US. It is the story about the kidnapping and murder of seven year old Maria Ridulph on December 3, 1957, taken while playing with a friend on a street corner in Sycamore, Illinois. It is a story that profoundly affected not only the family of the victim, but Maria's friend Kathy, who was not taken that night, and lived to identify the kidnapper and murderer ,"Johnny", 53 years afterward from a photo lineup. This is also the story of the profound effect, not only on the Ridulph family, but on Johnny's family as well. The Tessier family - (Johnny's family) lived in the same neighborhood as Maria and Kathy. It is also the story of how profoundly this affected the small town of Sycamore and beyond to neighboring communities, the state of Illinois, and the entire nation. It is the story of how J. Edgar Hoover demanded daily updates from the FBI investigation which, at one point, consisted of 60 officers. And it is a story about how President Eisenhower asked for and was given regular status updates from Hoover.
This is a story about Johnny's mother and her deathbed confession of Johnny's guilt, and her own complicity. It is the story of how an investigation became cold - very cold - then became white hot again. It is a story of how the crime was solved, and the perpetrator was brought to justice using only circumstantial evidence. It is a story about professional conflicts between a prosecutor, a judge, and a public defender. It is a story that is as riveting as it is tragic - and it is all true. I won't reveal any more of the story, but I will say that Mr. Lachman has done yeoman's work here. He has thoroughly investigated this story, and has woven it all into a wonderfully crafted, page-turner of a book. And it is a story about conflicting timelines, and how they play against the alibi that caused the FBI to dismiss "Johnny as a suspect in the days following the crime.
I was born in Sycamore, Illinois and grew up in a small town eight miles away. I was eleven years old when Maria was kidnapped from the corner of Center Cross and Archie Place in Sycamore. I remember my mother, before the days of "stranger danger", lecturing me about avoiding any and all contact with strangers. I remember being in the car with mom on a trip to DeKalb one day, as she pointed out to me the street corner where Maria was kidnapped. I remember being with mom and dad one day as we drove to Sportsmans Lake just north of Sycamore to watch it being pumped out in an attempt to find Maria's body. I had cousins, aunts, and uncles living in sycamore at the time. I had uncles who joined other locals in the search for Maria in the days, weeks, and months following the kidnapping. I have a cousin who lived on Roosevelt Court, a dead end street off of Center Cross Street, one block north and parallel to Archie Place. She was a few months younger than Maria, and a regular playmate. She was playing with Maria at the Ridulph house after school that fateful day until her older sister came to take her home around 4:30 PM. She gets upset to this day when discussing Maria's kidnapping.
This story is real. This story had a profound and widespread effect. This story is true. Charles Lachman has told this story. Five stars.
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