From the court documents of “The PEOPLE v. Hester”

On April 20, 1961, the body of Josephine Keane, a teacher at the Lewis-Champlin Elementary School of Chicago, was discovered in the first floor book storage room of the school. Mrs. Keane had been stabbed repeatedly in the side and chest. Her body was found lying face up with her skirt pushed up over the hips. She had been brutally sexually assaulted and the autopsy report fixed the cause of death as hemorrhaging due to multiple stab wounds with death occurring between 8:00 A.M. and noon that day.

Hester’s gym teacher talked with authorities stating that she had seen a 14 year old student alone in the hall on Thursday morning, and that she believed Mrs. Keane was handling a disciplinary case which involved him. The boy was ultimately convicted of murder and sentenced to 55 years in prison.

From Boston Daily Record Tues, Apr 22, 1961

A teenage “teacher’s pet” confessed last night he stabbed his favorite schoolmarm to death with a switch-blade knife in a grade where children were busy at their classes.  The 14 year old admitted he came up behind her stabbed her three times in the side and then rolled her over and stabbed her three more times in the chest. The only apparent motives was the fact Arthur had once been Mrs. Keane’s favorite helper and had recently been demoted.

To help honor Josephine Keane