Man given more time to fight conviction in 1957 killing

SYCAMORE, Ill. (AP) - A judge is giving a 75-year-old man more time to make a case he deserves a new trial after being convicted of murdering a northern Illinois girl in 1957.

Jack D. McCullough was convicted in 2012 of killing 7-year-old Maria Ridulph of Sycamore. An appellate court upheld his conviction in February.

A DeKalb County judge who denied McCullough's handwritten request for post-conviction relief last month has given him until Nov. 30 to build a stronger case. McCullough's public defender had requested a hearing on the denial, but the DeKalb Daily Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/1O83uMd) the judge said Wednesday that defense arguments were insufficient for a hearing.

McCullough has maintained his innocence. He claims phone records, FBI reports and comments from military recruiters show he was elsewhere when the girl was abducted.

___

Information from: The Daily Chronicle, http://www.daily-chronicle.com