Yorkville Mass Murderer To Be Re-Released

YORKVILLE, IL — After 45 years in prison, convicted mass murder Carl Reimann was set free in April — only to find himself behind bars again after not one, but two host sites fell through. Now, Reimann, who killed five people at the Pine Village Steakhouse in Yorkville on Dec. 29, 1972, will be re-released, just as soon as a suitable host site is approved for him.

In April, the state prisoner review board voted 8-4 in favor of granting Reimann parole despite the heinous nature of the crime.

The convicted killer went first to a home in La Grange but was quickly removed after school district officials raised the alarm about the home's proximity to several schools, a day care and a park. From there, Reimann went to another host site in Calumet City, where the scenario repeated itself, as the house was just a block away from an elementary school, a park and a recreation center.

In mid-May, Reimann was returned to the Dixon Correctional Center for lack of a viable host site, which put him technically in violation of his parole.

Now, the prisoner review board has ruled in favor of re-releasing him, according to WSPY, although the timing of his release and where he will be housed are unclear.

On that December night in 1972, Reimann, now 77, walked into the Kendall County restaurant with his accomplice and then-girlfriend, Betty Piche, and pulled a gun. After Piche removed cash from the register, instead of taking the money and leaving, Reimann shot five people to death.

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The dead were Pine Village employees George T. Pashade, 74, of Aurora, John H. Wilson, 48, of North Aurora and Catherine M. Rekate, 16, of Plano; along with patrons Robert E. Loftus, 48, of Bristol and David M. Gardner, 35, of Yorkville.

A family that walked into the restaurant during the robbery was spared after Reimann ran out of ammunition.

Reimann and Piche were apprehended shortly after fleeing the restaurant. In 1973, Reimann was sentenced to 150 years for each murder and 60 years for the armed robbery. Piche was sentenced as an accomplice in the crimes, paroled in 1983 and died in 2004. Due to Illinois sentencing laws at the time of the killings, Reimann was eligible for parole.

Because Rekate was a minor, Reimann is now listed on the Illinois State Police Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registry.

Last month, the families of Reimann's victims asked the state board to revoke Reimann's parole. As of Thursday, more than 1,800 people had signed a Change.org petition asking the board to revoke his parole at a June 12 hearing. The petition read, in part:

Carl Allen Reimann was convicted of "methodically, carefully and slowly" murdering 5 innocent people during an armed robbery at a Yorkville, IL restaurant. He was sentenced to 50 - 150 years for EACH of the 5 the murders, but shockingly was paroled on April 26, 2018 by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board after serving just 45 years. With his parole, outrage, grief, and fear was once again thrust upon his victim's families and upon communities. ... The IPRB now has the ability to entirely revoke parole and return him to prison to finish his entire sentence which shouldn't end until 2039.

Main photo of Carl Reimann via Illinois State Police Murderer And Violent Offender Against Youth Registry, April 2018.