On the night of November 1973, 13-year-old Sandra Cheskey, a 7th grade student, was invited with a group of teens to sit around a campfire in the Gitchie Manitou State Preserve. They were bored small town teens who had a guitar and a joint. No alcohol was involved. The night was about friends sitting around talking. Sandra had met 17-year-old Roger Essem and the pair began dating. Sandra was still a virgin. Roger and his friends,18-year-old Stewart Baade, 14-year-old Dana Baade, and 15-year-old Mike Hadrath were headed to Gitchie Manitou. Roger asked Sandra if she wanted to go with, and she did. Sandra wasn’t familiar with the preserve, but the others had been there previously. Gitchie Manitou can be beautiful. Many people insist Gitchie Manitou remains haunted since that night. Giant quartzite outcroppings at Gitchie Manitou State Preserve. (Located in Iowa, close to the South Dakota and Minnesota border.) The teens were sitting around a campfire enjoying each other’s company when they heard footsteps in the woods. As the teens checked out the noise shots were fired. The Fryer brothers were out poaching deer in the preserve when they saw the teens by a campfire. David Fryer went to spy on the group and to report back to his brothers. They planned to pretend they were narcotics agents and steal their drugs. (According to testimony) The Fryers believed that narcotics agents were allowed to indiscriminately kill drug users. Allen, James and David Fryer positioned themselves on the ridge overlooking the victims and opened fire. Roger Essem, 17, was killed and Stewart Baade, 18, fell wounded. The remaining teenagers ran to the woods. The Fryers announced themselves as narcotics officers and ordered the remaining teens to come out. Allen Fryer shot Michael Hadrath and Sandra Cheskey fell alongside him playing dead. Sandra Cheskey was tied up and a man they called “the boss” (Allen Fryer) drove away with her. After driving around for a bit, they stopped at an abandoned home and met up with the 2 brothers who were referred to as “hatchet face” and “JR”. She would find out later that James and David Fryer killed the remaining teenagers with shotguns. Roger Essem, 17; Stewart Baade, 18; Mike Hadrath, 15; and Dana Baade, 14 now had all been murdered. A brother they referred to as “JR” entered the vehicle with Sandra, and brutally raped her. “JR” would later be described as someone who was completely without emotion. When “the boss” returned, Sandra told him, “I was a virgin, you know.” Allen Fryer simply responded, “Nah, no you aren’t.” Alan wanted her to enter the abandoned home with him, but she threw herself on the ground and refused. Sandra said she knew if she entered that home, they would kill her there. Alan eventually gave in to her pleading and agrees to drive her home if she remained quiet about what took place. He told her that if she ever told, they would hunt her down and kill her. When he dropped her off at her home he told her, “There. Now I know where you live.” The teens' bodies were discovered the following morning, all killed with shotguns. When investigators checked out the scene, they realized the teens were murdered with 3 different rifles. They immediately suspect the murders were committed by 3 different shooters. That afternoon, 13-year-old Sandra Chesky came to the police station and reported she was out with the murdered teens last night. Sandra reported 3 men approached them and shot her friends. One of the men told Sandra her friends were shot with tranquilizer guns. He told Sandra he would take her home. Sandra was driven from the scene and brutally raped, then driven home. When she tells the story to police officers, some don’t believe her. She repeats the story over and over and it remains the same. They give her a lie detector test and she passes it. Sandra Chesky was placed in a locked juvenile detention facility. The investigators wanted to keep her safe, and they didn’t know where else to put her. Sandra was never brought to counseling. Investigators who interviewed Sandra, realized she was giving incredible details of the truck and was able to give a clear description of each of the killers. She said the brown truck had a gun rack and a crack in the windshield. She stated there was an inspection sticker in a specific location on the dash. Police officers would pick up Sandra at detention and drive her around looking for the abandoned farm, day after day. Police officers become more and more skeptical of her story. The Sheriff at one point pulled over on a back road with her and said, “I know you know who those guys are. Tell me right now.” Sandra stopped talking to him, realizing he didn’t believe her. Finally, after several days of driving around they meet a brown truck. She yells, “That’s him. That’s "the boss.” Sandra is pushed down in the car and the officer takes off after the truck. When the truck is pulled over, it meets all of the details Sandra described. (gun rack, crack in windshield, and inspection sticker in the exact location she stated). Alan “the boss” states that he doesn’t know anything about the killings. The brothers are put into a line-up with other men, and Sandra picks out each by their nicknames. David has more at stake than his brothers, as he has a prior arrest for shooting at people out the window of a moving vehicle. David takes a plea deal, and his version completely corroborates Sandra’s story. David receives a sentence of life in prison. While awaiting trial, Alan and James escaped from jail. Officers sat in Sandra’s home with shotguns day and night, waiting for the Fryer brothers as they swore they’d kill her if she told. Alan and James stole a vehicle and started heading west. They made it through South Dakota, but hit a pedestrian in Gillette, Wyoming. A witness described the vehicle, and the manhunt tightened around them, leading to their arrest again. There were times during Alan and James trial where Sandra Chesky was on the stand for over 2 hours at a time. But she toughed it out and stood up to the cross-examination. Sandra was amazing! Her testimony led to their conviction. Alan Fryer was sentenced to 4 consecutive life sentences. James received life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sadly, as a result of rumors in the community, some still believed Sandra somehow knew the killers. Parents told kids to avoid her in school. She was shamed and felt ashamed. Sandra said she walked with her head down “for the next 25 years.” Sandra stated that finally speaking of the ordeal today has helped her with healing. I am pleased that most investigators handle victims so much better today. Sandra Chesky is an amazing person and I’m glad she’s alive to tell her story. Thank you for sharing Sandra! Thanks for listening, Frank The Haunted House of Hillman is at editing. I will let you know when it will be released. (Not before March most likely)
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AuthorFrank F. Weber is a forensic psychologist specializing in homicide and sexual and physical assault cases. He uses his unique understanding of how predator’s think, knowledge of victim trauma, actual court cases, and passion for writing true crime thrillers. His Award Winning books include "Murder Book" (2017) "The I-94 Murders" (2018) "Last Call" (2019) and "Lying Close" (September 2020). Archives
April 2024
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