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| 1466 Campbell Lane, Des Plaines. |
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| Sears Langston. |
In 1975, a grisly discovery was made behind this Sears Langston in Des Plaines.
Campbell Lane is a quiet, suburban residential street. Just after midnight on June 16, a resident heard a "thumping noise" in the alley. They looked, saw nothing, and went back inside. At 1 a.m., another neighbor stepped into the alley — and stumbled upon a nightmare. A body, wrapped tightly in a bedspread, abandoned behind the Sears Langston like discarded trash.
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| Daily Herald photo of the alley. |
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| The alley where the body was found today, with the Langston in the background. (Google Streetview) |
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| Snippet from the Chicago Tribune, June 16, 1975. |
The victim was a teenage girl, shot in the head, no identification, no weapon, no clues. Police believed she had been killed elsewhere and dumped in Des Plaines under cover of darkness.
Days passed. Then weeks. Then months. No one reported the young woman missing.
It took the police one and a half years to solve the case. Following a tip from an informant, Milwaukee police identified the victim as Patricia Davis, 17, of Milwaukee. Her boyfriend, 24-year-old Ray Smith, shot her in the head and then disposed of the body. No one even noticed Patricia was missing because she was often shuffled between foster homes. She was the mother of an infant.
The Des Plaines police had sent descriptions of the victim to police departments all over the United States. Milwaukee police kept the bulletin and were able to connect the victim's description to their case, since the informant told them the victim was dumped in Illinois.
In December 1976, Des Plaines police lieutenant Lee Alfano told reporters: "I've got the best Christmas present of all. My one unsolved murder is solved."
Alfano had no idea what was coming.
Two years later, in 1978, Alfano was promoted to chief of police, and he encountered a horror that would eclipse everything before it. A local teen, Robert Piest, vanished from the Des Plaines pharmacy where he worked. His disappearance launched the investigation into John Wayne Gacy, who was ultimately convicted of torturing and killing 33 boys.
Alfano had no idea what was coming.
Two years later, in 1978, Alfano was promoted to chief of police, and he encountered a horror that would eclipse everything before it. A local teen, Robert Piest, vanished from the Des Plaines pharmacy where he worked. His disappearance launched the investigation into John Wayne Gacy, who was ultimately convicted of torturing and killing 33 boys.
Five of Gacy's victims remain unidentified as of this writing. Everyone, have a safe Halloween.
4 comments:
I can't unsee that clown photo; thanks for the nightmares that will follow! While not as grisly as the discovery in the alley, the mutilated and enclosed front porch is another kind of horrific... this Langston went from "Sturdy and Attractive" to Compromised and Nondescript. Happy Halloween!
Too creepy!
Yes, Des Plaines has dozens of Sears homes and many of them are nondescript.
Happy Halloween, Judith!
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