Grimes Girls Found
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News footage at the scene of the discovery of the bodies of Barbara (15) and Patricia Grimes (12), victims of a still-unsolved double murder. The girls' bodies were discovered alongside a deserted road in Willow Springs on January 22, 1957, nearly a month after they disappeared after seeing a movie at Brighton Park Theater in McKinley Park. Their disappearance initiated one of the largest missing persons investigations in the history of Chicago.; Due to the sensitive nature of the materials, please contact info@chicagofilmarchives.org if you are interested in viewing this film.
Credits
Frank Koza (filmmaker)
Complete catalog record
Cfa collection: Frank Koza Collection
Notes: As heavy snow falls, a detective is interviewed about the discovery of the bodies. He says he believes they were deposited several days before they were found. He is asked to draw comparisons to the 1955 Peterson–Schuessler murder of three young boys.; Detectives and photographers gather around the girls' naked bodies, which have been thrown on the side of the county highway. They are wrapped in sheets carried into a police vehicle on stretchers. Footage of Cook County police officers lacing up their snow boots to investigate the wooded area. They search for evidence around fences and bleachers at Santa Fe Park. Some footage repeats.; Scenes at the girls' funeral. Pallbearers included some of Barbara's classmates. A large group of mourners gather outside St. Maurice Church. Some footage repeats.; At the States Attorney's office, man lights a match and signs legal documents. Edward "Benny" Bedwell, who had been arrested as a suspect, smiles as he is accompanied out of the Cook County Jail. He and his attorney David Bradshaw are interviewed by a reporter.
Subjects: Murders; Crimes; Police; Funeral rites and ceremonies; Death
Places: North America > United States > Illinois > Willow Springs; North America > United States > Illinois > Chicago
Language: English
Cfa elements: Print, 500 feet
Cfa records: https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/Detail/objects/12392
Notes: As heavy snow falls, a detective is interviewed about the discovery of the bodies. He says he believes they were deposited several days before they were found. He is asked to draw comparisons to the 1955 Peterson–Schuessler murder of three young boys.; Detectives and photographers gather around the girls' naked bodies, which have been thrown on the side of the county highway. They are wrapped in sheets carried into a police vehicle on stretchers. Footage of Cook County police officers lacing up their snow boots to investigate the wooded area. They search for evidence around fences and bleachers at Santa Fe Park. Some footage repeats.; Scenes at the girls' funeral. Pallbearers included some of Barbara's classmates. A large group of mourners gather outside St. Maurice Church. Some footage repeats.; At the States Attorney's office, man lights a match and signs legal documents. Edward "Benny" Bedwell, who had been arrested as a suspect, smiles as he is accompanied out of the Cook County Jail. He and his attorney David Bradshaw are interviewed by a reporter.
Subjects: Murders; Crimes; Police; Funeral rites and ceremonies; Death
Places: North America > United States > Illinois > Willow Springs; North America > United States > Illinois > Chicago
Language: English
Cfa elements: Print, 500 feet
Cfa records: https://collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/Detail/objects/12392
Sources
- Chicago Film Archives · record ↗ — title, year, creator, length, format, color, sound, genre, description, credits, catalog record
Record added 2026-11-08 21:25:15