Investigation continues on 9th anniversary of Lane Bryant murders

SHARE Investigation continues on 9th anniversary of Lane Bryant murders
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Investigators load the bodies of the five victims into a van at the site of the shooting at the Lane Bryant Store at the Brookside Marketplace shopping center in Tinley Park, on Feb. 2, 2008. | File photo

On the ninth anniversary of the brutal murders of five women at a southwest suburban Lane Bryant store, Tinley Park police continue to solicit tips on the cold case.

On Feb. 2, 2008, five women were shot to death at the store in the Brookfield Marketplace in Tinley Park. The victims were identified as 37-year-old Connie R. Woolfolk of Flossmoor; 22-year-old Sarah T. Szafranski of Oak Forest; 33-year-old Carrie H. Chiuso of Frankfort; 42-year-old Rhoda McFarland of Joliet; and 34-year-old Jennifer L. Bishop of South Bend, Indiana. A sixth woman was shot and survived the attack.

Since then, police have followed up on more than 7,000 tips, 45 of which were received last year. No arrests have been made.

A sketch released of the suspect in the murders of five women at a Tinley Park Lane Bryant store in 2008. | Sun-Times file

A sketch released of the suspect in the murders of five women at a Tinley Park Lane Bryant store in 2008. | Sun-Times file

One investigator continues to work on the case full time, and a second works on it about half time, police said. Last year, the two investigators presented the case to the Vidocq Society in Philadelphia, a group of criminal and forensic investigators who review unsolved homicides.

“Members of this group are some of the finest criminalists in the country,” Tinley Park Police Chief Steve Neubauer said.

The group reviewed the case and assisted in strategies incorporating the latest in forensic technology and case management tactics, according to police.

“The Village of Tinley Park firmly stands behind the police department in its efforts to find the individual who committed this heinous crime,” Tinley Park Mayor Dave Seaman said in the statement.

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call the tip hotline at (708) 444-5394, or email lanebryant.tipline@tinleypark.org.

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