Police still pursuing gunman in Lane Bryant store massacre 10 years later

TINLEY PARK – Maurice Hamilton still holds out hope 10 years later that the man who killed his sister and four other women at a Lane Bryant clothing store will be caught.

Hamilton’s sister, Rhoda McFarland, 42, of Joliet; Jennifer Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Indiana; Sarah Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest; Connie Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor; and Carrie Hudek Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort, all were killed in a massacre at the store on Feb. 2, 2008.

A sixth woman who was an employee at the store suffered a gunshot wound but survived and provided a description of the gunman to police.

It’s been 10 years, and the killer has yet to be caught. Yet Hamilton still has hope that police eventually will capture him.

“Justice is going to come one day,” Hamilton said.

That hope is shared by Tinley Park police and the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office as they continue to investigate the case. State’s Attorney spokesman Charles B. Pelkie said prosecutor Michael Fitzgerald has worked closely with Tinley Park police to find the man responsible.

“We are not going to allow the memories of these five women to just fade away without continuing to investigate and bring someone to justice,” Pelkie said.

On the morning of Feb. 2, 2008, the five women were shot to death in what police believed was an armed robbery.

Since then, the Tinley Park police, the South Suburban Major Crime Task Force, U.S. Secret Service, FBI, Illinois State Police and even NASA have assisted with trying to solve the case, Tinley Park Police Chief Steve Neubauer said.

Now the case is down to Tinley Park police detectives, and it’s still “very much an active case,” Neubauer said.

“It’s a major, major case,” he said.

With renewed media attention this week, Tinley Park police have released a new image of the suspected gunman that was prepared by Michigan State Police.

The image is an enhanced version of the original sketch made in 2008 from an eyewitness account and provides a more lifelike representation of the suspect, Tinley Park police said in a news release.

The suspect is described as a man between 6-foot and 6-foot-2, with a husky build and broad shoulders, Tinley Park police said. He appeared to be 25 to 35 years old at the time, making him 35 to 45 years old today.

He has a medium to dark skin tone and wore braided hair with three to five puffy corn rolls pulled toward the back of his head. One braid hung down his right cheek and had four light green beads on the end, police said.

The killer’s voice can be heard by calling 866-853-6222 or visiting Tinley Park police’s website.

Tinley Park Police Detective Raymond Violetto said some cases are harder to solve than others. Violetto said he’s been working this one since the beginning, and it’s been a harder case. In the past two years, police have received an average of a tip and a half a week regarding it, he said.

“I do have hope someone will be identified and charged with this crime,” Violetto said.

Since McFarland’s death, Hamilton said he’s had “good days and bad days” coping with it, and he always keeps the great memories of her alive.

He said McFarland was a “God-loving woman” who was loved by her family and friends. She was an assistant pastor for the Word of Life Church in Crest Hill and would mentor youths, he said.

“She was a God-sent gift to us for the time she was here,” Hamilton said.

He said if someone knows who was responsible, he’d be grateful if they shared that information with the police. In the meantime, he said, his family keeps the families of the other victims in their prayers.

“We’re not out here alone,” he said.