Lane Bryant Murders: Still Unsolved After 9 Years

TINLEY PARK, IL - February 2 in Tinley Park will forever be tied to one of the worst tragedies in the history of Chicagoland and one that still haunts local residents and officials to this day.

Five women were murdered on the morning of Feb. 2, 2008 at the Lane Bryant clothing store in Tinley Park’s Brookside Marketplace on 191st Street near Harlem Avenue. A lone suspect from what police have called a robbery gone awry remains at large now nine years later.

A gunman forced six women - four shoppers, the store manager and an employee - to the back of the store and opened fire on a Saturday around 10:44 a.m. Connie R. Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor; Sarah T. Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest; Carrie Hudek Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort; Rhoda McFarland, 42 of Joliet and Jennifer L. Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Indiana were all killed. Only one woman, the store employee, survived after playing dead and waiting for the gunman to leave. Nearly a decade later, no one has been charged with the murders as the case remains one of Chicagoland’s greatest unsolved mysteries.

The surviving victim has never been named by police to protect her identity but did release a powerful statement just days after the tragedy.

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

For Steve Broadway, the tragedy at Lane Bryant still brings back strong emotions. A lifelong friend of McFarland’s, Broadway will never forget the final words he heard from her.

“She wished me a happy birthday, and that was the last thing I ever heard from her,” he told Patch, noting his Feb. 1 birthday has been bittersweet for the last nine years because it is tied to the crime’s anniversary the following day.

“She was one of my best friends. A staple to her family and everyone who knew her. She was a blessing to everyone she met and touched. I wish the world had more people like her.”

McFarland was the store manager who was killed just moments after heroically accessing her cell phone and calling 911. It was her call, made available to the public by police here, that first alerted authorities to the crime.

Growing up in Lockport, McFarland devoted her life to helping kids and was an active volunteer at her church, Broadway said. The two knew each other since they were children as both their fathers worked together at a steel mill and the friends became as close as family.

“Her uncle is my godfather,” Broadway said, referring to his fallen friend as a “true motivator.”

“She always provided me with motivation, would keep reminding me to never give up and would address everyone with a smile.”

Broadway remembers the sinking feeling he had waking up the day after the shooting and watching the news of television when he first learned his friend was one of the five victims.

“I saw her picture on television and my heart sunk,” he said.

But he wasn’t surprised when it was revealed that it was her 911 call - one that reportedly came while she was already bound with duct tape by the killer - that first alerted police.

“Rhoda had a big heart. I’m not surprised it was her who put herself out there in front of the others to try to save them.”

The suspect was described as a black man, 5’8” to 5’10” weighing 230-260 pounds and between 25 and 35 years old with a medium complexion, broad shoulders and clean shaven. He has three to five corn rows of hair described as “puffy” from the front to the back of his head. One of the dreads had beads.

Police have followed up on more than 7,000 tips that have been called in and received 45 new ones in 2016 alone.

The Tinley Park Police Department has partnered with the Philadelphia-based Vidocq Society (a national crime-solving expert group specializing in cold murder cases) in investigating the case.

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

Related: Tinley Park Police Get Help with Lane Bryant Murders From National Crime-Solving Group

No one in Tinley Park nor its surrounding Southland communities has forgotten Feb. 2, 2008.

The Brookside Marketplace struggled for years following the shooting. The Lane Bryant building left vacant until 2013 when a T.J. Maxx store opened in the empty space.

"It's bittersweet," said then-Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki, of T.J. Maxx’ opening. "Bitter in that it reminds us of what happened there. But on the other hand, it's a sign that we're moving on. Businesses are moving in."

Zabrocki’s emotions were much different the day of the shooting, telling Patch in 2012 of the moment he realized this event ended the lives of five innocent people and would go down as the most horrific crime ever committed in Tinley Park.

"By the time I got there they'd had it all cordoned off," Zabrocki said of when he arrived at the scene shortly after law enforcement. "A Frankfort police officer stopped me and asked me for identification. I stopped about 100 or 150 feet from the store. (Former Tinley Park Police Chief) Mike (O’Connell) saw me and I remember rolling down the window. He had this blue skull cap on and a parka. I looked at him and he had tears in his eyes. He said, 'Ed, we've got five dead.' My heart sank."

Nine years later, police have yet to make an arrest in connection with the killings, but the investigation has not tapered.

A $100,000 reward has been established for information leading to the arrest of the killer. Lane Bryant and their parent corporation immediately offered $50,000 to contribute to the total. Two investigators with the Tinley Park Police Department remain focused on the investigation, including one who works full-time at finding the man responsible.

For the families and friends of the victims, hope still exists that that day will come.

“We need closure,” said Broadway. “Closure for Rhoda’s family and the families of the other victims. And we won’t stop fighting until we get it.”

Anyone with information on the Lane Bryant case should call the Tinley Park Department’s tip hotline at 708-444-5394 or email lanebryant.tipline@tinleypark.org. All information provided to the tip lines will be kept confidential.

Also on Patch:
Remembering The Brown’s Chicken Massacre 23 Years Later
A Look at Back at The Tylenol Murders: Still Unsolved After 34 Years
Recalling The Richard Speck Mass Murders, 50 Years Later
Chicago’s ‘Big Snow’ of 1967: 50 Years Later