Unsolved case of 7-year-old boy's death solved after 65 years thanks to genetic genealogy

OZAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. (WLUC/Gray News) – Investigators in Wisconsin announced Friday that they have solved a 65-year-old cold case involving the death of a 7-year-old boy found in a Wisconsin culvert after his parents moved from Houghton County to Chicago.

Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office officials detailed the details of the case at length. Facebook post Chester stated that Alfred Breiney died as a direct result of the torture and abuse he suffered at the hands of his adoptive parents.

According to investigators, the Mequon Police Department assisted the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office in processing evidence 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.

Houghton County deputies worked with the Chicago Police Department after family members of William and Hilja Jutila became suspicious of the whereabouts of their adopted children, authorities said.

The Jutilas had moved from Houghton to Chicago and were unable to disclose the whereabouts of their 6-year-old son, Markku.

During an interview with police, the couple admitted that they fled Houghton to Chicago and dumped the child’s body in a ditch in Mequon before arriving in Chicago.

The mother, Hilja Jutila, admitted to physically beating her son to death.

A Facebook post from the sheriff’s office detailed what happened next: “The Jutilas were arrested by Chicago Police and Houghton County Investigators on March 28, 1966. During the Jutilas’ psychiatric evaluation, they claimed that Markku was sick and was sent home from kindergarten.

“The couple claimed that Markku had been ill for several days before he was found dead in his room. They claimed to be afraid of what was happening and decided to leave their home and go to Chicago, dumping Markku on the side of the road along the way.

“Houghton County Sheriff’s Department investigators contacted Mequon Police regarding human remains found in the culvert and determined they had similar characteristics to Markku Jutila. Therefore, along with the statements William and Hilja Jutila made to police, the Jutilas were arrested and extradited to Houghton County for prosecution.”

On November 10, 1966, the charges were dismissed due to the lack of corpus delicti and the prosecution’s inability to link the child’s skeleton found in Mequon to 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 Laboratory met with investigators from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

It was determined that investigators would attempt to identify the individual using DNA taken from the skull and research genealogy.

Investigators said in September 2024 that genealogy revealed that DNA taken from the skull had several matches with family members of the Breiney family, most notably Chester Breiney’s mother, Josephine Breiney.

All research genealogy results supported the skeletal remains as belonging to Alfred Breiney of Chester.

Investigators were unable to find any photographs of Chester Alfred Breiney/Markku Jutila. DCI S/A Truli Nielsen performed a facial reconstruction drawing from skull remains to show what Chester looked like.

There will be no prosecution for the death of Chester Alfred Breiney because both people involved in the case (adoptive parents William and Hilja Jutila) died in 1988.

Officials close to the case say Chester can rest in peace now that the truth about his death is known.

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