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Lane Bryant massacre: Criminal profiler says arrest could come in 2008 murder of 5 in women's clothing store

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Lane Bryant massacre: Criminal profiler says arrest could come in 2008 murder of 5 in women's clothing store

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It was as cold-blooded as cold cases come. 

On Feb. 2, 2008, a man posing as a delivery driver walked into a Lane Bryant clothing store in Tinley Park, a suburb of Chicago, with a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun. He forced six women he found inside into a back room, duct taped their hands behind their backs and fondled one of them, police said. 

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Eventually, he shot them all. 

While the attacker may have believed he killed all of them, one survived, according to investigators. She was a part-time employee whose description of the suspect police hoped would lead to an arrest. Despite thousands of leads over the past 16 years, the killer remains at large.

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The victims, from left: Jennifer Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Ind.; Carrie Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort; Rhoda McFarland, 42, of Joliet; Sarah Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest; Connie Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor. Background: Tinley Park Police Cmdr. Pat McCain makes a phone call in an office dedicated to the investigation. (Insets: FOX 32 Chicago, Background: Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The killer is believed to be just over 6 feet tall, with a “husky” build and broad shoulders. He was described as a Black man between 25 and 35 years old at the time of the attack, with a medium dark skin tone and corn-rowed hair. He had one braid hanging down his right cheek, adorned with green beads. He was wearing black jeans with a rhinestone “G” embroidered over the back pockets, a dark gray cap and a dark jacket.

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Grainy surveillance video taken from across the street shows a dark SUV and a dark sedan in the parking lot around the time of the murders, The Associated Press reported at the time. However, it was unclear whether either of the vehicles were used by the attacker. 

Authorities also have the killer’s voice recorded in a garbled 911 call, and the Tinley Park Police Department is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

MASSACHUSETTS MAN ARRESTED IN 36-YEAR-OLD COLD CASE AFTER SPIT ON SIDEWALK LINKS HIM TO MURDER

LISTEN: Police release 911 audio that contains voice of man who killed 5 in women’s clothing store

“You’re lucky,” the gunman can be heard saying. “I’m losing it.”

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The woman’s voice begging police to “hurry” belonged to the store manager, Rhoda McFarland, 42.

The lone survivor’s identity has not been publicized. Police identified the murder victims as McFarland, of Joliet; Jennifer Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Indiana; Sarah Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest; Connie Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor; and Carrie Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort.

“There’s something that’s in that timeline that’s off and you, as the investigator, have to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It’s like a ladder without rungs. We have to fill in those spots.”

— Joseph Giacalone, former cold case investigator

Police released a statement on her behalf days after the shooting.

“An unspeakable tragedy occurred, and five of the bravest women I have ever met were senselessly murdered and taken from their families,” she said. “My deepest sympathies and condolences go out to their families and friends. 

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“Please know that during the unfathomable events of that day, their thoughts were focused on you and coming home. My heart aches that they were unable to do so, and I am working with the authorities in any way possible for all of the victims.”

SERIAL KILLINGS PROSECUTOR REVEALS DETAILS OF UNIDENTIFIED VICTIM’S VIOLENT DEATH

Tinley Park Police Cmdr. Pat McCain in the “war room,” an office that houses all the collected evidence in the Lane Bryant case and full-time detectives working on leads Jan. 25, 2013. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Tinley Park Police did not respond to an interview request from Fox News Digital.

The cold case can be cracked with the help of new technology and tips from the public, according to John Kelly, a criminal profiler who has been working on the case through his organization, System to Apprehend Lethal Killers, or STALK Inc., and developed a potential profile.

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“I believe he lives outside the area, in a bigger city,” Kelly told Fox News Digital. “He has some experience about delivering to businesses, thus entering the back door and showing the manager the paperwork, a ruse, for a delivery to get himself inside and look for cameras.

“I believe he was impulsive and desperate for money,” Kelly said. “Probably an addiction of some sort. Could be ganged up.”

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Tinley Park Police Department Sgt. T.J. Grady speaks during a news conference Feb. 4, 2008, about the murders at the Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park, Ill. A gunman killed five women at the store. (Kuni Takahashi/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Despite the planning, he wasn’t an experienced stickup artist, the profiler said. 

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“He was a novice at robbing stores – a major lack of sophistication shows,” he told Fox News Digital. “Why try to rob a store in broad daylight at approximately 10:30 in the morning with no mask?”

That early, cash from the prior day of sales was already deposited, and few new shoppers would have come in to spend.

Wanted poster:

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“The only cash is to make change and maybe pay out refunds for returns,” Kelly said. “Why rob a place that’s having a sale and there could be a lot of people there? Why kill five people, but he thought he killed six, for a little bit of money and jewelry?”

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The sixth victim, who survived, gave police a suspect description that has now been developed into a 3D composite.

This undated image provided by the Tinley Park Police Department shows the suspect in a shooting that left five women dead at a Lane Bryant clothing store Feb. 2, 2008, in Tinley Park, Ill. (Tinley Park Police Department via AP)

Kelly said the attack on the Lane Bryant store may not have been the suspect’s first homicide and may not have been his last.

“He’s walking in without a mask, so he plans on killing going in,” he said. “[It’s] witness disposal. He thought he killed everyone who he believed could identify him. Probably changed the way he looked the next day.”

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Local police announced last year that they put two new detectives on the cold case, according to FOX 32 Chicago. 

Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said that’s the first step to cracking an unsolved mystery.

Mourners gather near the Lane Bryant store at the Brookside Market shopping mall Feb. 4, 2008, in Tinley Park, Ill. A gunman killed five women at the store. (Kuni Takahashi/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“Anything and everything is on the table at this point,” he said. “They’ve got to get back into their lives. Just because it looks like a robbery doesn’t mean it was a robbery. It could’ve been staged. It could’ve been something else. It could’ve been a love triangle. You’ve got to keep an open mind.”

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Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the Tinley Park Police Department at 708-444-5394 or email lanebryant.tipline@tinleypark.org.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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North Dakota

Memorial service at North Dakota State Capitol honors fallen officers

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Memorial service at North Dakota State Capitol honors fallen officers


Memorial service at North Dakota State Capitol honors fallen officers

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Ohio

Ohio State educators honored for service in classroom and beyond

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Ohio State educators honored for service in classroom and beyond


The work that educators do every day in teaching and furthering research and innovation is the foundation of The Ohio State University’s land-grant mission, President Ravi V. Bellamkonda said at the university’s annual Faculty Awards Celebration. The event was held May 6 at Vitria on the Square on Ohio State’s Columbus campus.

“The question is, what should we be doing together and what’s the goal for us as we move forward? I’d like to suggest that I would like for all of us to give ourselves the gift of reasonably high expectations of what we can achieve together, and you exemplify this,” Bellamkonda told the honorees.

“I’m optimistic about our future because of what you do in the classroom and the scholarship and the mentoring and the teaching and the community that you have created.”

The celebration shines a light on faculty’s contributions to Ohio State and the citizens that the university serves, Interim Provost Trevor Brown said.

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“I want to acknowledge how special all of our faculty are in the work that they do in generating knowledge and sharing that with students and the broader community,” he said. “That is important and essential work.

The Distinguished University Professor appointment, Ohio State’s highest faculty honor, was awarded to: Gail E. Besner, College of Medicine; Shan-Lu Liu, College of Veterinary Medicine; Alan Luo, College of Engineering; Giorgio Rizzoni, College of Engineering; Brent Sohngen, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CFAES); and Claudia Turro, College of Arts and Sciences.

“The title of distinguished university professor is a permanent honorific that includes automatic membership in the president’s and provost’s advisory committee,” said Patrick Louchouarn, senior vice provost for leadership and external engagement.

Three professors were recognized with the President and Provost’s Award for Distinguished Faculty Service: Caroline T. Clark, College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE); Susan E. Cole, College of Arts and Sciences; and John E. Davidson, College of Arts and Sciences.

Ohio State Interim Provost Trevor Brown said faculty’s teaching and research are essential.The Distinguished Scholar Award was presented to six faculty members: Christopher R. Browning, College of Arts and Sciences; David L. Hoffman, College of Arts and Sciences; Christopher Jaroniec, College of Arts and Sciences; Christopher A. Jones, College of Arts and Sciences; Matthew D. Ringel, College of Medicine; and Han-Wei Shen, College of Engineering.

Also recognized were recipients of the Provost’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Lecturer and the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching

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These honorees “are inducted into the Academy of Teaching and are honored with the academy’s medallion,” said Helen Malone, vice provost for faculty affairs. “Academy of Teaching members wear these distinctive medallions as part of their academic regalia.”

The Provost’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Lecturer honorees are:

Christiane Buuck, College of Arts and Sciences.

Alexia Leonard, College of Engineering.

David Matthews, College of Pharmacy.

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Calvin Olsen, College of Arts and Sciences.

U.S. Navy Lt. Michael L. Terranova, Naval ROTC.

Jennifer Walters, College of Arts and Sciences.

The Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching honorees are:

Jasmine Abukar, EHE.

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Yigit Akin, College of Arts and Sciences.

Dawn Allain, College of Medicine.

Rebecca R. Andridge, College of Public Health.

Amanda Bird, College of Arts and Sciences.

Ellen Klinger, CFAES.

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Danielle Schoon, College of Arts and Sciences.

Guramrit Singh, College of Arts and Sciences.

Margaret Sumner, College of Arts and Sciences.

Ryan J. Yoder, College of Arts and Sciences.

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South Dakota

South Dakota Highway Patrol: slow down, stay alert as summer traffic picks up

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South Dakota Highway Patrol: slow down, stay alert as summer traffic picks up


SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – As it gets closer to summer, more drivers will be on the road and the South Dakota Highway Patrol wants to remind drivers to stay vigilant behind the wheel.

With summer vacations, joy rides in the nice weather, and more drivers on the road, travel will be busier than usual.

On top of that, an increase in construction projects could cause delays and change traffic patterns.

All of this means drivers should stay alert when they are behind the wheel.

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“With all of the traffic going on during the summer time during the road construction, we just want to remind people on the roadway to slow down, pay attention to the traffic signs, the construction workers, and the traffic ahead of them,” Trooper Tori Hurtig of the South Dakota Highway Patrol.

Also, reminding motorcyclists and drivers to remain aware of their surroundings.

“Be a proactive and defensive driver, so watch where you are going, watch where the other drivers are going, and also try and avoid any unnecessary corrective actions as well,” said Hurtig.

Highway Patrol also wants to remind people to wear seatbelts and, if driving a motorcycle, to wear a helmet.

Want to get the latest news and weather from Siouxland’s News Source? Follow these links to download our KTIV News app and our First Alert Weather app.

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Copyright 2026 KTIV. All rights reserved.



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