Case 343
John Zera
*** Content warnings: Child victims, sexual assault ***
On February 28 1976, the suburban community of Hales Corners, Wisconsin, was rocked when the body of missing schoolboy, 14-year-old John Zera, was discovered in a local park. The teenager hadn’t been seen for over a week, having gone missing in the middle of the school day without so much as a word.
Over the next few years, the investigation into John’s brutal murder was plagued by mistakes and misconduct before eventually going cold. Thirty years later, the case was resurrected after police discovered a chilling scene.
CREDITS
EPISODE
Research & writing – Brianne Jaskulski
Narration – Anonymous Host
MUSIC
‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro – www.dl-sounds.com
Audio production – Mike Migas
Scoring – Mike Migas
Audio editing – Anthony Telfer
OTHER
Logo and website design – Paulina Szymanska
PREMIUM
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RESOURCES
OFFICIAL REPORTS & DOCUMENTS
Crummel, Plaintiff vs. State, Defendant (1970)
John Zera: missing persons report (1976)
John Zera: search report (1976)
John Zera: crime against person report (1976)
Police report re: interview with the construction worker (1976)
Police report re: first interview with Elaine Samuels (1976)
Police report re: interview with Dr. Kent Oakes (1976)
Police report re: interview with Daniel Acker (1976)
Police report re: Michael Uporsky’s initial statement (1977)
Hales Corners Village Commission press release re: Howard Hingiss’s suspension (1978)
Michael Uporsky’s letter agreeing to meet with police and take a lie detector test (1979)
Police report re: second interview with Elaine Samuels (1979)
Police report re: interview with Michael Uporsky (2001)
John Doe 67C v. Archdiocese of Milwaukee (2002)
Police report re: Greenfield police’s search of Daniel Acker’s home (2009)
Police report re: interview with Daniel Acker (2009)
Scans from Daniel Acker’s journal, pt. 1 (2009)
Scans from Daniel Acker’s journal, pt. 2 (2009)
ARCHIVED ARTICLES
Search continues for missing body parts – The Fond du Lac Reporter
Franklin youth, 14, vanishes – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Missing boy’s body found in Whitnall – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Article: Slaying victim ‘courteous, level-headed’ – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Police talk to 100 in boy’s death – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Laborer suspect in boy’s death – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Lost DA file on murder angers police – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Officer faces Doe probe – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Suburban officer suspended – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Doctor takes testicles in autopsy for research – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Nation: I do rotten, horrible things – TIME Magazine
Role of Samuels in trial criticized – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
ONLINE ARTICLES
Waukesha swim coach charged with assaulting teen – The St. Paul Pioneer Press
Charges bringing suspicion to fore – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Sex assault suspect befriended family of murdered boy – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Acker’s informal foster son still trusts him – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
James Lee Crummel’s death row suicide gives no closure to family of missing victim – OC Weekly
OC child killer’s twisted road to death row – The Orange County Register
Chapter 1: Have you seen Johnny? – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Chapter 2: Where do we start? – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Chapter 3: A chilling discovery – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Chapter 4: Citizen detective – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Chapter 5: What did we miss? – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Chapter 6: Blinded by science – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Chapter 7: A new beginning – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Chat with retired detective Kent Schoonover about “Unsolved” – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Chat with reporter Gina Barton about “Unsolved” – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Police mark 40 years since John Zera’s murder, pin hopes on DNA – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
DNA doesn’t crack Zera homicide case – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Abrasive, flamboyant, combative: Legendary Milwaukee character Alan Eisenberg has died – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Searching for ‘John’ – The Chicago Tribune
John Wayne Gacy’s last victim: His final moments from the last person who saw him alive – People Magazine
VIDEOS
Archival TV footage about missing files from John Zera case – WTMJ News
Daniel Acker gives police his alibi for the day John Zera disappeared (2009)
Daniel Acker tells police why he searched for John Zera in Whitnall Park (2009)
Daniel Acker tells police why he suspected a mental patient was involved in John Zera’s death (2009)
PODCAST
Unsolved – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel