Dr. Phil

Footsteps in the Snow: The Cold Case Murder of Maria Ridulph (13x33)

Air date: Oct 22, 2014

On Dec. 3, 1957, 7-year-old Maria Ridulph disappeared near her Illinois home, and five months later, her body was found. The case went cold for 55 years, until a mother’s deathbed confession implicated her own son, Jack McCullough — once known as John Tessier — who eventually was convicted of the murder, despite maintaining his innocence. Dr. Phil sits down with Maria’s brother, Chuck, and talks to Maria’s friend Kathy — the last person to see her alive. What happened that fateful night? Plus, hear from McCullough’s sister, Janet, who turned her brother in and testified against him. Why does she say she’s convinced her brother is guilty? And, learn why McCullough’s stepdaughter, Janey, says her stepfather is not a murderer. Could McCullough have been wrongfully convicted?