SEATTLE, July 2 (UPI) -- A judge in Seattle Saturday ordered a man suspected of killing a 7-year-old Illinois girl nearly 54 years ago held pending a bond hearing.
In ruling he found probable cause in the cold case, the judge ordered a bail hearing be held Monday for Jack Daniels McCullough, 71, of Seattle, The Seattle Times reported.
McCullough reportedly has been hospitalized for an undisclosed reason and did not appear at his hearing at the King County Jail, the newspaper said.
On Friday, authorities in DeKalb County, Ill., charged McCullough with killing Maria Ridulph.
The girl was last seen playing with a friend on Dec. 3, 1957, near her home in Sycamore, Ill., and her remains were found five months later.
McCullough, also known as John Tessier, had been a suspect at the time of the girl's abduction, but DeKalb County prosecutor Clay Campbell said the trail went cold after McCullough joined the military and changed his name, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Sycamore Police Chief Donald Thomas said a two-year probe led by the Illinois State Police with help from police in Sycamore and Seattle led to charges finally being brought against McCullough, who had been a police officer in the past.
