Ripper Crew Member Who Killed Elmhurst Woman To Be Freed

ELMHURST, IL — A member of the Chicago Ripper Crew that terrorized the area in the 1980s is set to be released from prison this month. Thomas Kokoraleis, who served a little more than half of his 70-year sentence in the death of an Elmhurst woman, will be released from prison on Friday, March 29.

Elmhurst Police Chief Michael Ruth shared via social media a letter he had received from the Illinois Prisoner Review Board that confirmed the release date.

Kokoraleis will be the first member of the Chicago Ripper Crew that included Robin Gecht, Edward Spreitzer and Andrew Kokoraleis, Thomas' older brother, to be freed. Elmhurst police said the group may be responsible for the murder of as many as 20 women.

According to police, Kokoraleis abducted 21-year-old Lorry Borowski on May 15, 1982, as Borowski was opening up a real estate business where she worked on St. Charles Road in Elmhurst. She was then raped and murdered, and her body was found that October in a Clarendon Hills cemetery.

Illinois sentencing laws at the time of Kokoraleis' trial were so that he would only have to serve half of his sentence. Originally up for parole in 2017, his release date that year had been delayed because he had no place to live.

In Elmhurst, the memories get no less painful as the years go by.

"We have not forgotten," Ruth said. "All of the police officers and detectives who worked on this case have long since retired. However, the pain, anguish and loss have remained within our organization as we have continued to monitor the status of the Ripper Crew.

"In the early 1980s, a prison sentence of 70 years seemed like a long time, but that time has now arrived. We must respect the criminal justice process and follow the rule of law."