Published: Nov. 11, 2024 at 9:33 AM PST |Updated: 13 hours ago OZAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. (WLUC/Gray News) – Investigators in Wisconsin announced Friday they have solved a 65-year-old cold case involving the death of a 7-year-old boy who was found in a culvert in Wisconsin after his parents moved to Chicago from Houghton County. Officials from the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office detailed the specifics of the case in a lengthy Facebook post stating Chester Alfred Breiney died as a direct result of his torture and abuse by his adoptive parents. According to investigators, the Mequon Police Department, assisted the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office with evidence handling, by conducting the initial investigation during which they became aware that the Houghton County Sheriff’s Department was investigating a possible missing child, Markku Jutila. Officials said Houghton County deputies were working with the Chicago Police Department after family members of William and Hilja Jutila became suspicious of the whereabouts of their adopted child. The Jutila’s had relocated from Houghton to Chicago and were not able to articulate where their 6-year-old son, Markku, was. During the interview with police, the couple admitted to fleeing Houghton for Chicago, disposing of the child’s body in a ditch in Mequon before arriving in Chicago. The mother, Hilja Jutila, confessed to physically beating her son to death. The Facebook post from the sheriff’s office detailed what occurred next, stating, “The Jutila’s were arrested by Chicago Police and Houghton County Investigators on March 28, 1966. During the psychiatric evaluations of the Jutila’s, they claimed that Markku had been ill and was sent home from kindergarten. “The couple claimed Markku had been ill for several days before he was found dead in his room. They claimed they were afraid of what happened and made the decision to leave their home for Chicago, dumping Markku on the side of the road along the way. “Houghton County Sheriff’s Department investigators contacted Mequon Police regarding the human remains located in the culvert and found they had similar features to Markku Jutila. Because of this, along with the statements to police provided by William and Hilja Jutila, the Jutilas were arrested and were extradited to Houghton County for prosecution.” On November 10, 1966, charges were dismissed because of the absence of corpus delicti and the failure of the prosecution to connect the skeleton of the child found in Mequon with the defendants. The case remained untouched until October 2023, when officials from the Wisconsin Department of Justice - Division of Criminal Justice and Madison State Crime Lab met with researchers from the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh. It was determined that investigators would attempt to identify the individual utilizing DNA extracted from the skull and conducting investigative genealogy. Investigators said that in September 2024, genealogy revealed that the DNA extracted from the skull had several matches to family members of the Breiney family, particularly Josephine Breiney, mother of Chester Breiney. All investigative genealogy results supported that the skeletal remains belonged to Chester Alfred Breiney. Investigators were unable to locate any photographs of Chester Alfred Breiney/Markku Jutila. DCI S/A Truli Nielsen conducted a facial reconstruction drawing from the skull remains to show what Chester looked like. Because both individuals implicated in the case, adoptive parents William and Hilja Jutila, died in 1988 there will be no prosecution for Chester Alfred Breiney’s death. Officials close to the case say Chester may now rest in peace as the truth of his death is known. Copyright 2024 WLUC via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Most Read