Boy found dead in 1959 was beaten by parents, DNA test reveals

The death of a 7-year-old boy in 1959 has finally been solved.

Sheriff's officials in Ozaukee County, in southeastern Wisconsin, say Chester Alfred Breiney was beaten to death by his adoptive parents, and his body was left in a ditch in Mequon while the parents fled from Houghton, Michigan to Chicago.

Skeletal remains were found in a culvert on Oct. 4, 1959. As police investigated, they learned that police in Houghton, Michigan, were looking into the disappearance of a boy named Markku Jutila. Relatives of the boy's parents, William and Hilja Jutila, became suspicious and alerted Chicago police. During a police interview, the Jutilas admitted leaving their son's body in a ditch on their way to the city. Hilja Jutila eventually confessed to physically beating her son to death.

In 1966, the Jutilas were arrested in Chicago and extradited to Michigan for prosecution. Later that year, though, charges were dismissed when investigators were not able to conclusively prove the remains belonged to Markku Jutila.

Then, in October 2023, investigators ran a DNA test on the boy's remains. They matched the remains to members of the Breiney family. They discovered that the boy's biological mother, Josephine, died in 2001 and had no living relatives. Adoption records indicated that Chester Alfred Breiney was the birth name of Markku Jutila. He was adopted from Good Will Farm, an orphanage, in 1955.

Since William and Hilja Jutila both died in 1988, no one will be prosecuted in the case.

In a social media post, Ozaukee County authorities wrote:

Child abuse is real. So many children are affected by the trauma they receive at the hands of people who are supposed to love and nurture them. That is what happened to Chester and because his abuse went undetected, Chester died as a direct result of his torture and abuse by his adoptive parents.

A funeral for Chester Breiney is set for Nov. 15 at St. John XXIII Parish - St. Peter of Alcantara Church in Port Washington. The boy will be buried in St. Mary's Parish Cemetery in Port Washington.

Investigators say they were unable to find a photo of Chester Breiney/Markku Jutila, so they released a forensic sketch of what the boy may have looked like.

Donations in memory of Chester Breiney can be made to the Lakeshore Regional Child Advocacy Center.