Man Charged In 1972 Murder Of Naperville Teen Appears In Court

This Wednesday, June 2, 2021, photo provided by the Naperville Police Department in Naperville, Ill., shows Barry Lee Whelpley. Authorities say Whelpley, a 76-year-old Minnesota man, has been arrested in the stabbing death of a 15-year-old suburban Chicago girl nearly half a century ago. (Naperville Police Department via AP)

A man charged with the murder of a Naperville teen nearly 50 years ago is back in Illinois. Barry Lee Whelpley appeared in Will County Court yesterday after being extradited from Minnesota earlier this week. He was charged last week with stabbing 15-year-old Julie Ann Hanson to death in July 1972. Her body was found the next day in a Naperville cornfield. Police say DNA evidence led to his arrest. Whelpley is being held in the Will County jail on ten-million-dollars bail.