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Kresol lectures on historic crimes in Boone, Winnebago Counties
Sixty-eight people came out to listen to local historian, Kathi Kresol, share her knowledge of local, historical crimes in Boone and Winnebago Counties at the Boone County Historical Museum on Wednesday, Feb. 22.
“We have a great turnout tonight,” Anna Pivoras, executive director of the Boone County Historical Museum (BCHM), said. “It is a great kickoff to our 2017 lecture series. We have three more wonderful topics to share with the community.”
Kresol shared her research about the April 1934 murder of Walton Wheeler, the richest farmer in the Belvidere area. Even with a family of 10, he was wealthy enough to loan money to those who needed it.
He thought someone was watching him and heard whistled signals one day while he was outside.
Two weeks later, Hazel, his 15-year-old daughter also heard the whistles. She saw four men drive up and get out of the car. One pulled a gun and forced the family into the house. The rest grabbed Wheeler and beat him until he broke away and ran for the house. Then, they fired four shots, killing him.
The family was so spooked by the event that police staked out the house. The men were never found. The murder was never solved. Possible speculations for why Wheeler was murdered range from the fact that Wheeler kept large amounts of cash in the house; the local loan shark did not like people having a kinder man loan them money; or to the fact that Wheeler was abusive to his wife.
Wheeler is buried in Belvidere.
Daniel Stott, of Garden Prairie, was poisoned by his wife and doctor.
Dr. Cream had thought that they could get money from the pharmaceutical company and contacted the police to search deeper. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life (10 years). Upon his release, he moved to England. Prostitutes began to die. This time Dr. Cream wanted to blackmail their customers so, once again, he contacted the police. This time the police did not mess around, and he was sentenced to hang until dead.
Kresol related several other local, famous, and infamous, murders.
She did a great deal of research in libraries and records departments. She visited the houses and locations if they still existed. She spoke to anyone related to the case who might have had any knowledge of the people or crimes involved.
“My children encourage me to share the history of the area; telling the story for the victims,” Kresol said. “It is times like these when communities come together, showing compassion.”
Kresol has been successful in sharing her knowledge with local communities.
“Kathi is well known in museum circles for her knowledge of local history,” BCHM Collection Manager Leah Bush said.
“We thought it would be wonderful to have her here in Belvidere, because Belvidere has such a rich local history. There are so many subjects to touch on that the museum does cover, but Kathi did a great job of bringing local stories into the limelight. We were honored to have her here. The turnout was amazing because people are interested in local history.”
For more information about the Boone County Historical Museum, visit: www.bchmuseum.org.
To learn where Kathi Kresol’s next event will be, visit www.hauntedrockford.com.
