had been caused by the floor mats of a Packard station wagon model that had been owned by both Hansen and Jayne in 1955. The barn in which the murders allegedly occurred burned down on May 15, 1956, in a suspected arson. Neighbors had reported to the police that they had heard screams from the stables on the day the boys disappeared, but the leads were not followed up, despite the stable's proximity to the site where the bodies were found. According to a detective who worked on the case, Kenneth Hansen had preyed on hundreds of boys before his 1995 arrest and conviction for the murders. Hansen's conviction was overturned five years later on the grounds that the jury should not have heard prejudicial testimony regarding his frequent cruising the streets in search of boys to prey upon, whom he termed "chicken". Found guilty at a 2002 retrial with a subsequent affirmation of the verdict in a 2004 appeal, Hansen was sentenced to life imprisonment. He died at Pontiac Correctional Center on September 12, 2007. Attacks on George Jayne In October 1959, George Jayne moved his stable business from the 'Happy Days Stables' to the 95-acre 'Tri-Colour Farm' near his home in Inverness, Illinois. Silas' competition with George, both in business and at horse shows, became intense and led to a prolonged effort to kill George. Cheryl Rude was a professional rider who went to work for George after she was fired by Silas. At the Oak Brook Hounds Horse Show in 1961, Rude won a jumping class over protests from Silas, and George's daughter beat Silas' best horse to take the top prize, after which Silas stood in the middle of the horse ring and shouted at George "I'll never talk to you again, you bastard!" This was the beginning of a campaign of harassment against George. In 1962, shots were fired at George's office and the office was burglarised. At various times, George's tires were punctured, lug nuts on his truck tires were loosened, sugar was poured into his gas tank, cars attempted to run him off the road at night, two of his horses were poisoned, and dynamite was left by his back door, but the fuse fizzled out. In March of 1963, while working late at his office, George, perhaps sensing danger, departed in a borrowed car leaving the lights on and his own car