The News-Democrat of Feb 25, 1980 reported that Sharrey Lynn Case (March 26, 1960 – last seen Oct 28, 1977) was last seen alive on Oct 28, 1977. That was when her mother dropped her off at Gary Allen Williams’ trailer in Centreville, Illinois. He was her boyfriend. Note that according to police, Williams is […]
Illinois
Missing: Joanna Lopez
I keep saying it, my readers are the best. In my inbox this morning, was a puzzle that has occupied me for the better part of the day. A reader told me that after watching old television send-offs, they saw two clips from WMAQ in Chicago, Illinois. Clip 1 is from 1989 and on YouTube […]
Petronella M. Runkaitis Petreikis
On Nov 8, 1952 around 150pm, Petronella M. Runkaitis Petreikis (1882 – 1952) finished working in the corn fields, in the Peotone Township of Will County, Illinois. She was sixty-six years old. She needed to get back to her bed-ridden (diabetic) husband Kazimir Petreikis, and only had to cross US Highway 54 (now 45) to […]
Susan Jessica Morey: an update
My readers are the best. I keep saying that because it is true. On of my readers, Jason D., contacted the Morey Family and they in turn contacted me. We have exchanged some emails and the results so far are below. More information will be posted as it becomes available. What did I learn about […]
Susan Jessica Morey (Aug 13, 1962 – June 18, 1990)
I was browsing through newspapers when I stumbled onto this piece. It is from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri. The date is June 22, 1990. Check this out on page 18: “Murdered Woman Identified: St. Clair County Coroner Rick Stone said Thursday that a woman found stabbed to death Monday In […]
Kristina S. Hickey (1969 – 1984)
Introduction Kristina S. Hickey (1969 – 1984) was murdered in Park Forest, Illinois, 1984. She was 15 years old and still in high school. On January 15, 1987, Christopher Abernathy was convicted for Kristina’s murder. On February 11, 2015, after 30 years of incarceration, Abernathy was exonerated by DNA and set free. But who killed […]
Deborah Ann Danhaus (Oct 4, 1952 – Aug 1971)
We do not know exactly when in August 1971 Deborah Ann Danhaus (18) from Amboy, Illinois was murdered. We do not know why either. All we know is that the case went cold fast. Should any evidence still be in storage, hopefully properly preserved, they should be re-examined with modern technology. When I searched for […]
Remember Tatman and Burchfield
The weekend of November 25 and 26, 2017 mark the 50th and 64th anniversaries of two police officers featured on this blog: Robert Lawrence Tatman and Richard Stanley Burchfield. Both Tatman and Burchfield were killed in the line of duty. Both were shot. Both were young husbands. Both were young fathers. Robert Lawrence Tatman Champaign […]
Albert Edwin Seaburg
The cold case of Albert Edwin Seaburg (March 4, 1926 – Sept 4, 1997) is the Case of the Month for September. Albert Edwin Seaburg (71) was murdered while he was traveling through Florida. His home state was Illinois. The Florida authorities believe that he was shot during a robbery. He was found dead in […]
Case of the Month: Barbara and Patricia Grimes
Case of the Month: Barbara and Patricia Grimes left their home on December 28, 1956, to watch the Elvis Presley movie “Love me tender” in a theater close to their Chicago home. They had $2.50 with them. Barbara Jeanne was 15 years old and her sister Patricia Kathleen was 13. They never returned home. The […]
The 1966 cold case of Valerie Percy
The 1966 cold case of Valerie Percy: on September 18, 1966, Valerie Percy (21) was murdered in her parental home in Kenilworth, Illinois, by an unknown intruder. Her case remains cold. Valerie was the daughter of former senator Charles Percy and Jeanne Valerie Dickerson. Jeanne passed away in 1947. Percy remarried Loraine Diane Guyer in […]
The cold case of Maria Ridulph
On Dec 3, 1957, Maria Ridulph (7) vanished from a small-town street corner in Sycamore, IL, while playing in the snow. Arrested in July 2011 and sentenced in December 2012 for her murder was Jack McCullough, formerly known as John Tessier. McCullough was released from prison on April 15, 2016. Charges against him were dismissed on April […]
Joseph Halpern Part 3 by Silvia Pettem
Joseph’s nephew had started his search for his uncle, Joseph Halpern, missing since 1933, by contacting the sheriffs’ offices in the four Colorado counties that border Rocky Mountain National Park. The nephew asked about unidentified remains that might be identifiable with DNA comparisons. In 2009, when the NamUs System was inaugurated, the nephew, as a […]
Joseph Halpern Part 2 by Silvia Pettem
For six days in August 1933, park authorities searched drainages and followed all possible trails for the missing 22-year-old hiker, Joseph Halpern. Authorities also checked the registers on Taylor and nearby peaks, but none showed Joseph’s signature––a customary procedure for climbers, once they reach a summit. Perhaps trying to be encouraging, a writer for the […]
Joseph Halpern Part 1 by Silvia Pettem
In the summer of 1933, twenty-two-year-old Cook County, Illinois, resident Joseph Halpern was vacationing in Rocky Mountain National Park with his parents and Samuel Garrick, a college friend. The motorists had driven Joseph’s Ford sedan and had stopped in the Black Hills and at Yellowstone National Park on their way west. Even though the country […]
Reversal Juan Rivera Conviction
From the New York Times: “In an opinion that harshly criticizes the tactics of the police and prosecutors, an Illinois appellate court on Friday night reversed the conviction of Juan Rivera, who has spent 19 years in jail for the 1992 rape and murder of an 11-year-old baby sitter in a suburb of Chicago. There […]
National Police Week 2011: Tribute to Tatman
Champaign, Illinois: On November 25, 1967, police found patrol officer Tatman lying on his back in front of his own squad car, the motor still running, it’s revolving lights still on, and the front door at the driver’s side open. His flashlight was lying on his left side. His hat was on the ground near the […]
Illinois abolishes capital punishment
He finally did it. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn abolished capital punishment. Quinn also commuted the sentences of all 15 inmates remaining on Illinois’ death row. They will now serve life in prison. From the Washington Post: “State lawmakers voted in January to abandon capital punishment, and Quinn spent two months reflecting on the issue, speaking […]
Update Betty Gene Hull
Investigators will check if any materials found at the Betty Gene Hull crime scene can be tested with modern technology for touch DNA. On Christmas Eve, Dec 24th, 1991, Mrs. Betty Gene Hull was found dead. She was 68 years old. When police arrived, it was immediately clear that whoever is responsible for her death was in […]
Riley Fox’s murderer gets life
Riley Fox’ murderer Scott Eby’s plea bargain was accepted yesterday by Will County (IL) Judge Richard Schoenstedt. Before his sentence, Eby rose and addressed the courtroom briefly. He apologized to Riley‘s parents saying that he wished he could trade his life to bring her back. In June of 2004, the body of Riley Fox(3) was pulled from a […]