Tinley Park Police Get Help From Crime-Solving Group With Lane Bryant Murders

TINLEY PARK, IL — The Tinley Park Police Department has enlisted the help of one of the nation’s best crime-solving groups in finding the man responsible for the Lane Bryant murders.

The Vidocq Society in Philadelphia is a group of the top criminal and forensic investigators who focus on reviewing unsolved homicide cases, according to a police news release issued on Wednesday, one day before the ninth anniversary of the tragedy that occurred at the retail store in Tinley’s Brookside Marketplace.

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

The group has already reviewed the case and has assisted in strategies “incorporating the latest in forensic technology and case management tactics.”

On Feb. 2, 2008, a gunman opened fire after a robbery gone awry and killed Connie R. Woolfolk of Flossmoor; Sarah T. Szafranski of Oak Forest; Carrie Hudek Chiuso of Frankfort; Rhoda McFarland of Joliet and Jennifer L. Bishop of South Bend, Indiana. A sixth victim who also suffered gunshot wounds survived. Her identity is being withheld by police for her protection.

Neubauer said police have followed up on more than 7,000 tips since the crime occurred and received 45 new leads in 2016. Two investigators — one full-time and one part-time — remain working on the case.

Anyone with information regarding the Lane Bryant case is encouraged to call the Tinley Park Department’s tip hotline at (708) 444-5394 or email lanebryant.tipline@tinleypark.org.

Tips will be kept confidential.

Photo: A sketch of the suspect involved in the Lane Bryant murders.