Monday Mar 02, 2026

S11 E4 - The Boy in the Culvert - How Chester Alfred Brieney Got His Name Back

In October 1959, a woman searching for autumn flowers in Mequon, Wisconsin made a devastating discovery — the remains of a small child hidden in a roadside culvert.

For decades, the child was known only as Case Number 6426. No name. No identity. No justice.

This episode of Malice in the Mitten explores the disappearance of Markku Edward Michael Jutila — born Chester Alfred Brieney — the adoption that changed his life, the parents who fled Michigan, the shocking confession in Chicago, and the 1966 court decision that let them walk free.

In 2024, modern DNA testing finally identified the child. Sixty-five years later, he got his name back.

This is a story about child abuse, cold case investigation, forensic genealogy, and the limits of justice in the 1960s.

Written and researched by Rebecca Hiers

Hosted and produced by Tracy Preston, featuring Christine Mulligan

Original artwork by Todd Preston

Original music created exclusively for Malice in the Mitten by Tracy Preston

#TrueCrimePodcast #ColdCase #DNAJustice #ForgottenVictim

Sources:

https://blogs.mtu.edu/archives/2024/11/23/no-justice-but-peace/

https://blogs.mtu.edu/archives/2024/11/15/he-was-someone/

https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/805532/memorial-search?firstname=chester&middlename=&lastname=&cemeteryName=Saint+Marys+Cemetery&birthyear=&birthyearfilter=&deathyear=&deathyearfilter=&bio=&linkedToName=&plot=&memorialid=&mcid=&datefilter=&orderby=r

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/276298738/josephine-a-breiney