ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — More than four decades after the murder of 17-year-old Louise Betts, newly highlighted court records have revealed a disturbing chapter in the case that remained largely unknown to the public.
Betts disappeared in 1977, and after six months of searching, her body was discovered in a Boone County field. A jury convicted Curtis Brownell in 1978 of her rape and murder. Brownell remains incarcerated.
However, when investigators recovered Betts’ body, one critical piece of evidence was missing—her skull. According to federal court documents, the skull was allegedly kept by then-Boone County Coroner Wesley Hyland as a personal trophy…