Speaker 1: This podcast is based on information sourced primarily from police
Speaker 1: and media reports, but certain names and other identifying details
Speaker 1: may have been changed or altered for privacy and security reasons.
Speaker 1: While the events in cases discussed are based on real investigations,
Speaker 1: some aspects may be simplified for time and for narrative purposes.
Speaker 1: Voice actors have been used to read from statements or documents.
Speaker 1: All information presented is intended solely to inform and raise awareness.
Speaker 1: Hosts may discuss theories regarding the cases examined in this podcast,
Speaker 1: but such discussions are not intended to and should not
Speaker 1: be considered by the listener to be legal conclusions. All
Speaker 1: persons discussed are considered innocent until proven guilty in a
Speaker 1: court of law. Listener discretion is advised.
Speaker 2: This is Chief Anna Lally. Welcome to Somebody Knows Something,
Speaker 2: a podcast from the Elgin Police Department's Cold Case Unit.
Speaker 2: In this podcast, we will shed new light on cold
Speaker 2: cases in the city of Elgin by sharing untold details
Speaker 2: and by encouraging anyone with information to come forward. You
Speaker 2: will come along with real cold case detectives as they
Speaker 2: investigate active cold cases in real time and seek justice
Speaker 2: for the victims and closure for their families. We believe
Speaker 2: that the Elgin Police Department and our community can work
Speaker 2: together to bring closure to cold cases because we know
Speaker 2: that in these cases, somebody knows something.
Speaker 3: Hello and welcome to somebody knows something. The Elgin Police
Speaker 3: Department Cold Case Podcast. My name is Detective Andrew Houghton.
Speaker 4: An I'm Detective Chris Hall. On our last episode, we
Speaker 4: visited Aurora, Illinois, discussed why Teria Jones and her Husban
Speaker 4: and Wyman. We discovered that a bus from downtown Elgin
Speaker 4: could have theoretically dropped off Bitteria off just a few
Speaker 4: blocks from her house him. We made that walk along
Speaker 4: with Beth as we reviewed the theory that Whitteria could
Speaker 4: have traveled here in nineteen eighty two. We also discussed
Speaker 4: Wayman Jones's nineteen eighty arrest for battery as we considered
Speaker 4: his background for this investigation. Then we ended our episode
Speaker 4: by disclosing that Wayman Jones was arrested one other time,
Speaker 4: all the way back in nineteen sixty seven.
Speaker 3: In this episode, we are traveling outside of Elgin once again,
Speaker 3: to the city of Chicago to see the neighborhood where
Speaker 3: the Jones family lived in the late nineteen sixties before
Speaker 3: moving to Aurora, and it's the same neighborhood that Wayman
Speaker 3: Jones lived in in November of nineteen sixty seven when
Speaker 3: he was arrested for.
Speaker 4: Partner Waityia and Wyman originally grew up in Tennessee, but
Speaker 4: in the mid nineteen sixties they traded the still segregated
Speaker 4: South for the northern city of Chicago, Illinois. When they
Speaker 4: arrived in Illinois, the couple moved into an apartment in
Speaker 4: the West Garfield Park neighborhood. In the early twentieth century,
Speaker 4: the area surrounding Garfield Park was the home of a
Speaker 4: large immigrant population. In fact, the founder and later longtime
Speaker 4: coach of the Chicago Bears, George Stanley Hallis, whose family
Speaker 4: was from Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, grew up in the
Speaker 4: neighborhood back in the early nineteen hundreds.
Speaker 3: Then, between nineteen sixty and nineteen seventy, the neighborhood began
Speaker 3: to change, and Waityria and Wyman were part of that
Speaker 3: transformation as the neighborhood shifted away from the mainly immigrant population.
Speaker 3: After graduating from college in Tennessee, Weyman moved north to
Speaker 3: work the Chicago Public school system, and shortly after that
Speaker 3: Whitia followed him. It was there in the West Garfield
Speaker 3: Park neighborhood that their family continued to grow.
Speaker 4: By nineteen sixty seven, however, Waitia was spending some time
Speaker 4: in Elgin, while Weyman remained in Chicago, working and raising
Speaker 4: the couple's four children in the four thousand block of
Speaker 4: West Gladys Avenue. Then, in the early morning hours of
Speaker 4: November eleventh, nineteen sixty seven, Wayman Jones was allegedly about
Speaker 4: a block from his house at the Shadow Mar Lounge,
Speaker 4: located at four oh nine South Pulaski Road in Chicago,
Speaker 4: when there was an incident outside the bar. The following
Speaker 4: is a recreation of the radio traffic from the Chicago
Speaker 4: Police records for this case from one thirty am on
Speaker 4: November eleventh, nineteen sixty seven, eleven o.
Speaker 5: Eight to the apparent of Pulaski Road and shown.
Speaker 3: Eleven ten.
Speaker 4: Police quickly arrived into the area and discovered that a
Speaker 4: twenty three year old black man named Otis Johnson had
Speaker 4: been shot in the chest outside of the bar. Otis
Speaker 4: lived nearby as well, in the thirty eight hundred block
Speaker 4: of West Gladys, and he died at the scene. Here's
Speaker 4: a portion of the actual Chicago Police Department report for
Speaker 4: Otis Johnson's murder. Portions are edited and redacted for clarity
Speaker 4: and to protect the identity of witnesses.
Speaker 5: Upon our arrival, we were directed by Beat one one
Speaker 5: five oh who were at the scene to a man
Speaker 5: lying in the street, victim of a shooting and was
Speaker 5: about to be taken to Garfield Park Hospital by Beat
Speaker 5: one one seven oh. Victim was pronounced dead by doctor
Speaker 5: MacNeice at O one forty. This date, we interviewed the
Speaker 5: owner of the Shadow Mar Lounge, who stated that he
Speaker 5: knew the victim as Popeye and that the victim was
Speaker 5: in his establishment and left soon afterward. The witness heard
Speaker 5: a shot but did not see the assailant. It was
Speaker 5: learned from another witness that she observed a black male
Speaker 5: standing in front of the tavern at the above address
Speaker 5: with what appeared to be a blue steel snub nosed
Speaker 5: pistol in his hand, just as she was entering the tavern.
Speaker 5: At this time, the victim was coming out of the
Speaker 5: tavern and she was entering same This witness heard a
Speaker 5: shot behind her and she ran further into the tavern.
Speaker 5: That is all she knows. She described the offender as
Speaker 5: follows mail black, thirty to thirty five years old, approximately
Speaker 5: six feet tall and one hundred sixty five pounds, with
Speaker 5: a medium build, medium brown complexion, and wearing a dark hat,
Speaker 5: dark checkered short cloth coat, and dark trousers, and carrying
Speaker 5: a gun unknown make a flash message was sent to
Speaker 5: other units.
Speaker 3: As it turned out, Waymon Jones was thirty four years old,
Speaker 3: six feet one inches tall, and weighed approximately one hundred
Speaker 3: and eighty pounds, and he lived about a block from
Speaker 3: the shooting. That day, November eleventh, was a Saturday, and
Speaker 3: soon after the shooting, the Chicago Police Department identified Waymon
Speaker 3: Jones as a suspect in the case, and they issued
Speaker 3: an arrest warrant for him for the charge of murder.
Speaker 4: On November twenty fourth, the day after Thanksgiving, Wayman Jones
Speaker 4: formally surrendered himself to the Chicago Police Department for that
Speaker 4: murder warrant, and he was officially charged with the murder
Speaker 4: of Otis Johnson.
Speaker 3: At first glance, the Chicago case might not seem relevant
Speaker 3: because we know that why Kerria was actually living in
Speaker 3: Elgin in November of nineteen sixty seven. But, as we
Speaker 3: said last episode, understanding a person's potential for violence is
Speaker 3: something that is crucial in all criminal investigations.
Speaker 4: Last episode, we told listeners that at least one family
Speaker 4: member alleged that there was domestic violence in the home
Speaker 4: when Waytyia lived in Aurora. But we didn't reveal is
Speaker 4: that the records that Beth recently got us revealed that
Speaker 4: Whitteria herself also mentioned domestic violence in the home. So
Speaker 4: we now have a family member and why Tyia herself
Speaker 4: disclosing violence within the home. Plus we know that Weyman
Speaker 4: was arrested for a simple battery in nineteen eighty.
Speaker 3: Even though the murder case in Chicago isn't directly related
Speaker 3: to Whitteria, we decided that it would be useful for
Speaker 3: us to see the place where Otis's murder happened, and
Speaker 3: to say, the apartment neighborhood where Waiteria lived in the
Speaker 3: nineteen sixties before she moved to Aurora. So Chris and
Speaker 3: I drove down to the city of Chicago to do
Speaker 3: just that.
Speaker 6: All right, now we are on Van Buren and Kulaski.
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's would have been the local neighborhood where Writiri
Speaker 4: and Weyman lived.
Speaker 7: Back in sixty seven, early sixties or mid sixties to
Speaker 7: sixty seven.
Speaker 8: We know what Tiria was out in Elgin at this
Speaker 8: time that the murder happened.
Speaker 7: But we're standing here at Pulaski and Van Buren's a
Speaker 7: lot of.
Speaker 8: Traffic noise here.
Speaker 7: The Shadow mar Lounge were been right here at the corner.
Speaker 7: So when the shooting happened, it was evening. Even looking
Speaker 7: around here, there's not a lot.
Speaker 8: Of street lights. It was probably pretty dark.
Speaker 6: Yeah, back then, especially.
Speaker 8: And going south to north you have Van Buren.
Speaker 7: The next street north of here is Gladys, which is
Speaker 7: the street they lived on, and they were about four
Speaker 7: or five houses, I think.
Speaker 8: Five buildings in from Pulaski to the west.
Speaker 6: That's gotta be what like two hundred feet did you
Speaker 6: ever take?
Speaker 7: Yeah, there's an alleyway between here and Gladys that's maybe
Speaker 7: two hunred feet away. That would get you into the
Speaker 7: alleyway behind their house, and so it's maybe five hundred
Speaker 7: feet from here to the back door of the property. Yeah,
Speaker 7: I mean, if a shooting happens and if he was involved,
Speaker 7: and we're not saying he was. Although he was charged
Speaker 7: in this case, it was dismissed. Looking around, I mean,
Speaker 7: you could disappear into the neighborhood pretty quickly.
Speaker 6: It's pretty eagerly similar to Casey Kyle's case.
Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean by the time somebody gets outside, that
Speaker 8: person's gone. Person's gone.
Speaker 7: I mean there's alleyways on both both sides going east
Speaker 7: to west. Gladys Avenue is a block from here, but
Speaker 7: the apartment where he lived and in nineteen sixty seven is,
Speaker 7: like we said, five hundred feet away maybe. Yeah, So
Speaker 7: it's pretty dense down here once you get off the Pulaski.
Speaker 8: It's a very.
Speaker 7: Very urban area with alleyways, a lot of Roehmes kind
Speaker 7: of on top of each other back in here. So
Speaker 7: I think once you get down an alleyway, you could
Speaker 7: cut through these different gangways between different apartments and.
Speaker 8: It kind of be gone.
Speaker 6: But it's easy to blind it down here.
Speaker 7: Yeah, Chicago felt enough to at least charge him in
Speaker 7: the case, even though it was dismissed. But if you're
Speaker 7: standing here on the corner where the entrance was to
Speaker 7: the building, it's very, very very close to where he
Speaker 7: was living at the time.
Speaker 4: So well as we said when we visited the neighborhood,
Speaker 4: it certainly is a close walk or a run from
Speaker 4: Wayman's address to the site of the homicide, and he
Speaker 4: was charged pretty quickly in that case. But unfortunately, one
Speaker 4: problem with a case like this is that it's very
Speaker 4: difficult to get a hold of extensive records for a
Speaker 4: case this old. The Chicago Police Department Identification Section has
Speaker 4: been very helpful in getting us copies of the original
Speaker 4: incident report and warn't arrest for this case, But Chicago
Speaker 4: has thousands of old murder files, plus this one is
Speaker 4: from almost sixty years ago.
Speaker 3: The records we received were.
Speaker 4: On unfortunately extremely limited. Initially, when we began looking into this,
Speaker 4: we were concerned that the homicide could be somehow related
Speaker 4: to Waitia, But thanks to the records that Beth got
Speaker 4: us recently, we now know that she was not living
Speaker 4: in Chicago at the time of that homicide.
Speaker 3: In reviewing the case files and the court case, we
Speaker 3: learned that Wayman Jones was indicted for murder by the
Speaker 3: Cook County Grand jury on January twenty third of nineteen
Speaker 3: sixty eight. Even today, when someone is charged with a
Speaker 3: felony in Cook County, the State's Attorney's Office is the
Speaker 3: agency that actually approves criminal charges or a warrant for them.
Speaker 3: Process is called felony review, and we follow that same
Speaker 3: procedure today for felony cases in both Cook County and
Speaker 3: Kane County.
Speaker 4: The defendant in this case was Weyman, and he was
Speaker 4: arrested on the murder warrant that was authorized by the
Speaker 4: Cook County State's Attorney's Office and then he was booked
Speaker 4: and processed in Chicago for that murder and after that
Speaker 4: he was held in the jail today, once a defendant
Speaker 4: is charged in a case, the Cook County State's Attorney's
Speaker 4: Office has a few options moving forward with the criminal case.
Speaker 4: One can have a hearing before a judge or an
Speaker 4: impanel a grand jury to hear facts of the case.
Speaker 4: And typically, at least in my experience, and I know
Speaker 4: and Andrews as well, that the Cook County State's Attorney's
Speaker 4: Office often seeks a bill of indictment before a grand
Speaker 4: jury for fel any cases, then they move forward with
Speaker 4: a criminal case if an indictment is obtained. It appears
Speaker 4: that the same process was used even back in nineteen
Speaker 4: sixty seven when Wayman was arrested and then he was charged,
Speaker 4: and then he was indicted for the murder of Otis Johnson.
Speaker 3: That's true, but he was not convicted on this case, right.
Speaker 4: That's correct, and Wayman Jones's murder arrest was dismissed in
Speaker 4: nineteen sixty eight, and as far as we can tell,
Speaker 4: no one else has ever been charged in Otis Johnson's murder.
Speaker 4: At this point, we haven't been able to determine the
Speaker 4: reason that the case was dismissed, but Wayman Jones was arrested, charged,
Speaker 4: and indicted for Otis's murder prior to that dismissal. Otis
Speaker 4: Johnson's murder is just one murder in Chicago for which
Speaker 4: there isn't a conviction.
Speaker 3: Chicago is the third largest.
Speaker 4: City in America, behind New York and Los Angeles, so
Speaker 4: the volume of criminal cases in general, including homicide, is large,
Speaker 4: just like any other major urban city with massive populations.
Speaker 4: According to uncovered dot com, there have been more than
Speaker 4: fourteen thousand murders in Chicago since nineteen eighty, with over
Speaker 4: eight thousand soft Unfortunately, just like with our cases, sometimes
Speaker 4: those cases still go cold.
Speaker 3: Chicago has worked hard to add resources to address their
Speaker 3: cold cases. They partner with other agencies like the Illinois
Speaker 3: State Police and the FBI to work on cold cases,
Speaker 3: and they've also used civilian groups like crime Stoppers as well.
Speaker 3: CPD also has worked with victim groups, nonprofits, and they
Speaker 3: have dedicated cold case detectives in each of the five
Speaker 3: areas of the city, all in an effort to solve
Speaker 3: homicide cases and to continue to lower their overall hollmice rate.
Speaker 3: Chicago has experienced success with this model. According to the
Speaker 3: Council for Criminal Justice, Chicago experienced four hundred and sixteen
Speaker 3: total homicides in twenty twenty five. That number is a
Speaker 3: twenty nine percent decrease from the five hundred and eighty
Speaker 3: seven recorded in twenty twenty four, and those twenty twenty
Speaker 3: five numbers are the lowest number of homicides in the
Speaker 3: city of Chicago since nineteen sixty five.
Speaker 4: One innovative way that the Chicago Police Department has tried
Speaker 4: to create interest and leads in their cold cases is
Speaker 4: by launching a web series on the department's YouTube page.
Speaker 4: The department first launched this program in twenty twenty two,
Speaker 4: and currently you can find videos on the department's YouTube
Speaker 4: page that discussed the cold case murders of Elizabeth Dunlap
Speaker 4: in nineteen seventy six, Lizzie Malcolm and Lucretia Lee in
Speaker 4: nineteen eighty one, Brenda Graham in nineteen ninety nine, Kevin
Speaker 4: Kleher in two thousand and four, Veronica Williams in two
Speaker 4: thousand and seven, Kiera Coles in twenty eighteen, and Angie
Speaker 4: Monroe and ELISAs Vargas in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 3: I know that we have used this podcast to garn
Speaker 3: our community interest and media in a tension for our cases,
Speaker 3: and we will continue to do so. But we also
Speaker 3: encourage our listeners to seek out information on cold cases
Speaker 3: in your own area so you can help drive community
Speaker 3: interest on other cases as well. Oftentimes it is the
Speaker 3: public who can help us or other agencies with media
Speaker 3: attention and tips, So please consider reviewing sites like Chicago
Speaker 3: Police Department's web series that we just mentioned at others
Speaker 3: to see if you can help bring closure to another
Speaker 3: area cold case. One other angle that we wanted to
Speaker 3: address but our Chicago connection, is that, as we said
Speaker 3: in a prior episode, a trip to Chicago on either
Speaker 3: a bus or a train might make sense for Whyteria
Speaker 3: in nineteen eighty two. We know she could have made
Speaker 3: her way directly to Aurora from downtown Elgin, but it
Speaker 3: appears to get to Joliet or some other place she
Speaker 3: would have more than likely had to go to Chicago.
Speaker 4: If you have never been to Union Station in Chicago,
Speaker 4: it is a massive complex that covers nearly ten city blocks,
Speaker 4: with much of the station underground. The station houses commuter
Speaker 4: trains and nationwide reagreas, and it connects Chicago to over
Speaker 4: five hundred different cities. Located just west of the Chicago
Speaker 4: River and adjacent to the Chicago Loop, Union Station today
Speaker 4: is the fourth busiest train station in America, and it
Speaker 4: handles on average one hundred and forty thousand passengers a week.
Speaker 3: Union Station first opened in nineteen twenty five. It was
Speaker 3: actually the third station to be located on that site.
Speaker 3: By eighteen seventy, Illinois had the most extensive railway system
Speaker 3: in the United States, and Chicago was the main Midwestern
Speaker 3: hub for trains from across the country. So Union Station
Speaker 3: was constructed by a union of four major railway companies
Speaker 3: to accommodate the growing demand for passenger trains in the city.
Speaker 3: When it opened, The Chicago Tribune wrote this about the
Speaker 3: grand new station.
Speaker 5: In respect to both architecture and utility, the new station
Speaker 5: is one of the most impressive in the world.
Speaker 4: By nineteen eighty two, the commuter line from Elgin, the
Speaker 4: Milwaukee Road or MR Line, ran from Elgin to Union Station,
Speaker 4: passing through eighteen stops on its way downtown, and there
Speaker 4: was a Greyhound bus that left Elgin and went to
Speaker 4: Chicago as well. So considering those options, why Tiia certainly
Speaker 4: could have traveled to Union Station as a launch pad
Speaker 4: to Juliet or Aurora, or even Tennessee where she had family,
Speaker 4: or even Texas where the Zemas owned another hotel. Really,
Speaker 4: if she did go to Union Station, Whitia could have
Speaker 4: traveled to literally hundreds of other cities.
Speaker 3: Since Chris and I were already in Chicago, we decided
Speaker 3: to head over to Union Station since it is another
Speaker 3: location that we need to consider along Wakia's possible path
Speaker 3: in nineteen eighty two.
Speaker 9: All right, we were here at just outside Union Station,
Speaker 9: down the city, and as expected, on a warm Tuesday afternoon,
Speaker 9: as busy as ever, probably a likely spot that Criteria
Speaker 9: would have ended up at if she was in between
Speaker 9: traveling from uh she was potentially traveling out of state.
Speaker 6: This is probably the best spot to go.
Speaker 7: Yeah, the train from Elgin would have taken her here
Speaker 7: to Union Station. She could have got to Juliette from here,
Speaker 7: she could have got to or from here, she could
Speaker 7: have gone to Texas from here, she could have gone
Speaker 7: to really anywhere Tennessee.
Speaker 6: It's a pretty major hub for a lot of areas.
Speaker 7: The Greyhound buses would have come down here to downtown
Speaker 7: as well nearby, so we know that she could have
Speaker 7: come down to this area. We didn't really get into
Speaker 7: the logistics of getting to Joliette from the train, So
Speaker 7: you could do that from here from the station.
Speaker 8: There's also another option, which is LaSalle Street.
Speaker 7: So we're gonna drive over there here in a minute
Speaker 7: just kind of see how far that is from here,
Speaker 7: but I know it's about a half a mile away.
Speaker 6: Yeah, pretty far a walk for her.
Speaker 9: If she tried to do that with luggage or a
Speaker 9: suitcase or anything substantial as far as her.
Speaker 7: Personal property, Yeah, this doesn't make a lot of sense
Speaker 7: to do that if you can do it from Union Station,
Speaker 7: Like why take a train down here to go to
Speaker 7: Joliette and then walk to another.
Speaker 8: Train to get out there. Yeah, so this would be
Speaker 8: a pretty likely location.
Speaker 7: If she was leaving Elgind to go to Joliette, she
Speaker 7: would almost certainly have come through this location. But like
Speaker 7: we said, that's getting gon to Tennessee from here or
Speaker 7: really anywhere in the country, because you have the option
Speaker 7: to take Amtrak from down here, yep, Metro trains to
Speaker 7: other cities, the buses downtown, the CTA is close by.
Speaker 7: So if she came into Chicago, I mean, the options
Speaker 7: are kind of limitless for her.
Speaker 6: Yeah, even nice in eighty three.
Speaker 4: So well, as we said, if Waityia did come to Chicago,
Speaker 4: she certainly could have gone back to Tennessee or to
Speaker 4: a bunch of other locations. And if she wanted to
Speaker 4: get to Joliette, she could have taken a train from
Speaker 4: the Union Station or LaSalle Street. We didn't get very
Speaker 4: specific about downtown joliet and our joliet episode, but the
Speaker 4: trains from Chicago terminate in downtown joliet on the east
Speaker 4: side of the river. The Joliette Motor Hotel is about
Speaker 4: a mile walk from the downtown station, so it's definitely feasible.
Speaker 4: Plus there are bus stops along Western Avenue, with some
Speaker 4: as close as with blocks from the Joliette Motor Hotel.
Speaker 4: It is entirely plausible that Waititiia could have gone to
Speaker 4: Chicago and then taken the train to joliet and then
Speaker 4: either walked to take a short bus ride over to
Speaker 4: the whole tell if that was her ultimate destination.
Speaker 3: While in elegent in Chicago to Juliete connection is entirely possible.
Speaker 3: We now know that she could go to Tennessee or
Speaker 3: Texas as well, because we have connections to those areas,
Speaker 3: so we will continue to consider those destinations. But one
Speaker 3: of our other theories is that something could have happened
Speaker 3: while she was enroute to her next destination, regardless of
Speaker 3: where that destination was. So let's talk a little bit
Speaker 3: about that theory here in this episode. To get an
Speaker 3: idea of Chicago crime and missing persons in nineteen eighty two,
Speaker 3: we turned to the Chicago Police Department's nineteen eighty two
Speaker 3: Annual Report. That report documents crime for the calendar year
Speaker 3: of nineteen eighty two, and it listed that there were
Speaker 3: six hundred and sixty eight murders in Chicago that year.
Speaker 3: Chicago's clearance rate on those murders was actually eighty seven
Speaker 3: point seven percent, which is a really high number. The
Speaker 3: report also listed that there were seventeen thousand, two hundred
Speaker 3: and ninety four missing person cases reported in Chicago in
Speaker 3: nineteen eighty twough oo oh. The overwhelming majority of those
Speaker 3: cases were either unfounded or cleared.
Speaker 4: Andrew and I decided that we also wanted to take
Speaker 4: a look at NamUs and review any cold case missing
Speaker 4: persons cases, specifically for black females like Waeteria in the
Speaker 4: Chicago area between nineteen eighty and nineteen ninety, to see
Speaker 4: if we had anything similar to her case. While we
Speaker 4: have not come across any that appear linked to white Tyria,
Speaker 4: we do want to briefly mention some here as we
Speaker 4: continue to try to shine a light another missing persons
Speaker 4: in the area.
Speaker 3: There are a number of cases in Chicago dating back
Speaker 3: to nineteen eighty for missing black women. They include six
Speaker 3: year old Kelly Juanita Staples, who disappeared walking to school
Speaker 3: on January eighth of nineteen eighty and four year old
Speaker 3: Sila Renee Quinn, who reportedly disappeared from her apartment a
Speaker 3: month later on February twenty seventh of nineteen eighty. She
Speaker 3: lived in the Bronzebell neighborhood. Kelly was last seen wearing
Speaker 3: a brown and white striped cap, a brown scarf, a
Speaker 3: red plaid coat, and blue jeans with blue rubber boots.
Speaker 3: And Little Shila was last seen wearing a white T
Speaker 3: shirt with white socks and gold pajama bottoms. She might
Speaker 3: have also had on a dark winter coat. Both young
Speaker 3: girls are still missing.
Speaker 4: Thirty seven year old Christine Daniels was also reported missing
Speaker 4: in nineteen eighty by her sister on May thirtieth. Christine
Speaker 4: lived in the three hundred block of South Spalding remains
Speaker 4: missing to this day. Similar to Waitiria, she would be
Speaker 4: in her eighties if she is alive today, and her
Speaker 4: whereabouts are currently unknown.
Speaker 3: Jumping forward in time to nineteen eighty three, Vignette Tigue
Speaker 3: disappeared on June twenty fifth of nineteen eighty three from
Speaker 3: the five thousand block of South Federal Street. Vignette was
Speaker 3: an eighteen month old baby. She was described as thirty
Speaker 3: two inches tall and twenty seven pounds with black hair
Speaker 3: and brown eyes, and she was last seen playing in
Speaker 3: the hallway of her apartment before she disappeared. Little Vignette
Speaker 3: Tige's case remains a cold case to this day.
Speaker 4: The last two cases that we wanted to mention from
Speaker 4: the nineteen eighties involved the disappearance of a twenty seven
Speaker 4: year old woman and a thirteen year old girl. First
Speaker 4: case involving a twenty seven year old Sylvia renee McElroy,
Speaker 4: occurred on November tenth, nineteen eighty seven. Sylvia is described
Speaker 4: as having brown eyes and black hair with the burgundy
Speaker 4: tint to it, and she was wearing a long beige
Speaker 4: trench coat, a blue white t shirt, and navy pants
Speaker 4: when she entered a brown four or late nineteen seventies
Speaker 4: model Buick near sixty third and King Drive on the
Speaker 4: South Side, Chicago, never to be seen again.
Speaker 3: And thirteen year old Billina McGee, who was wearing a
Speaker 3: white turtleneck sweater and black checkered shorts, disappeared on June
Speaker 3: twenty eighth, nineteen eighty nine, as she walked to class,
Speaker 3: Just like Kelly Staples in nineteen eighty she never made
Speaker 3: it to school. Billina disappeared and her case remains cold.
Speaker 3: She was described as five foot three, one hundred and
Speaker 3: twenty pounds with curly black hair and brown eyes, and she,
Speaker 3: like all the young women and girls we just mentioned,
Speaker 3: remains missing to this day.
Speaker 4: Now we're going to talk a little bit more about
Speaker 4: nam Us in our next episode, but we really encourage
Speaker 4: people to visit name us in a conjunction with this podcast.
Speaker 4: It is really an invaluable resource and you might be
Speaker 4: able to make a difference if you have information any
Speaker 4: of the cases listed on that site, whether they are
Speaker 4: an algent case or not.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and if you have information about Chicago cold cases
Speaker 3: or active commicide cases for that matter, you can reach
Speaker 3: their anonymous tip line at eight three three four zero
Speaker 3: eight zero zero six' nine or email The Chicago Police
Speaker 3: department AT cpd tip dot. Com you can also contact
Speaker 3: us and we can help you get in touch with
Speaker 3: the right area detectives for your, case if that helps.
Speaker 3: You our goal with this podcast is to shine a
Speaker 3: light on as many cold cases as we, can even
Speaker 3: if they're not our, cases and we hope that by doing,
Speaker 3: so we can create more community interests around these tragic
Speaker 3: cases and generate tips that might help close a, case
Speaker 3: even if it's not.
Speaker 4: Ours at this, point we haven't found any links between
Speaker 4: Otis johnson's murder And Wayteria jones's, disappearance and we have
Speaker 4: yet to locate any similar case That whyteria could have
Speaker 4: been linked. To as we have, said based on some
Speaker 4: records we've obtained over the last few, months we now
Speaker 4: know that Why teyria was living In eligent at the
Speaker 4: time Of Otis johnson's. Murder, but as we also, said
Speaker 4: arrests for violent offenses certainly at least peak are interest
Speaker 4: in a case like. This because The Cook County State's
Speaker 4: attorney's office dropped these charges Against wayman for the, case
Speaker 4: we cannot say if he was guilty of that offense or.
Speaker 4: Not all we can say is that he was a
Speaker 4: suspect in that, case and if he was involved In otis's,
Speaker 4: murder it certainly shows that he was potentially capable of
Speaker 4: committing a violent. Offense plus we have his prior battery
Speaker 4: arrests from nineteen eighty as.
Speaker 3: Well chris AND i looked to see if we could
Speaker 3: find any of the original detectives For otis's. Case maybe
Speaker 3: they would know why the case was, dropped or maybe
Speaker 3: they'd have some other information that wasn't included in the.
Speaker 3: Reports so we've gotten up to this, Point, unfortunately we
Speaker 3: have not located any of, them and this case is
Speaker 3: nearly sixty years, old so when you think about, it
Speaker 3: a detective who was maybe in his thirties back then
Speaker 3: would be in his nineties.
Speaker 4: Today and we are still seeking additional information About Otis
Speaker 4: johnson's murder because we want to have as much information
Speaker 4: About Wayman jones as we continue Investigating whitteria's. Disappearance so
Speaker 4: if you were someone you, know did Know Wayman jones
Speaker 4: prior to his, death or have information About Otis johnson's case,
Speaker 4: specifically please contact. Us we would like to know more
Speaker 4: information about that homicide and About Wayman.
Speaker 3: Jones more, broadly we also want to hear from anyone
Speaker 3: who Knew wayman And whitteria during their time In chicago
Speaker 3: Or aurora or really anywhere. Else additional first hand information
Speaker 3: about their relationship and their lives together is crucial to this,
Speaker 3: case and information About wayman's life After whiteria disappeared could
Speaker 3: also be relevant as. Well so if you have information to,
Speaker 3: share please reach out to us if you an email or,
Speaker 3: phone or send us an anonymous. Tip no tip is too.
Speaker 4: Small in this, episode we have explored the option That
Speaker 4: whitteria traveled To chicago and potentially could have gone somewhere
Speaker 4: else Like joliette or even out of the, state but
Speaker 4: we have no tangible evidence to tie her to the
Speaker 4: city other than that her best route To joliet ran Through.
Speaker 4: Chicago we also know that she lived In tennessee briefly
Speaker 4: in nineteen seventy six and had family there as. Well
Speaker 4: plus we know that some tenets from The Joliet Motor
Speaker 4: hotel even went To, texas so it is quite possible
Speaker 4: that she could have traveled to one of those locations
Speaker 4: From chicago as. Well in the, end some connection To
Speaker 4: chicago remains a, possibility but we still don't know if
Speaker 4: she went, there or if something happened to her in
Speaker 4: the city or even on her way to and from the.
Speaker 3: City as For wyman's murder arrest In, chicago at this,
Speaker 3: Point Otis johnson's case doesn't appear to be directly related To,
Speaker 3: whyteria but it did get us thinking about one other
Speaker 3: aspects of this. Case Involving. Aurora we began to think
Speaker 3: About wayman And waitia's home and the property that it sits.
Speaker 3: Upon similar to our thoughts on The Douglas. Hotel we
Speaker 3: began to wonder if it was possible that she could
Speaker 3: be concealed at that location if she did in fact
Speaker 3: return there in nineteen eighty two or nineteen eighty. Three
Speaker 3: So beth reached out To aurora to see if there
Speaker 3: was any permits issued for a new patio or a
Speaker 3: structure or something like that that might point to some
Speaker 3: activity that could conceal human. Remains we determine that there
Speaker 3: are no records to suggest that any permits or major
Speaker 3: renovations or changes have happened to that property since nineteen eighty,
Speaker 3: two so at this point there's nothing to suggest concealment
Speaker 3: on the property In.
Speaker 4: AURORA i also have to say, that based on the
Speaker 4: newer records That beth, obtained we also know now That
Speaker 4: myteria was living In elgin in nineteen seventy five and
Speaker 4: again from nineteen seventy six to nineteen eighty, two minus
Speaker 4: a brief stay In. Tennessee might actually make it more
Speaker 4: reasonable That wyman didn't report her missing for several. Months
Speaker 4: he legitimately might not have known that she was, missing
Speaker 4: or that the hotel In elgin was even, closed while
Speaker 4: she did have family In, aurora we have to at
Speaker 4: least consider that she may not have gone back there at.
Speaker 4: All we just don't really know how much Contact weyman
Speaker 4: And waiteria had with one another once she was living
Speaker 4: In elgin by nineteen seventy.
Speaker 3: Five, YEAH i, Agree, chris it's certainly possible that she
Speaker 3: didn't go back To. Aurora wayman's background with a homicide
Speaker 3: arrest and a battery is important to, review and as we,
Speaker 3: said at least one family member In waitiria herself disclosed
Speaker 3: some sort of physical violence in the. Home but we
Speaker 3: can't physically place her In aurora after about nineteen seventy.
Speaker 3: Five while that location might make the most logistical sense
Speaker 3: with a direct bus and family in the, city by
Speaker 3: nineteen seventy, Five elgin was really her home more Than aurora.
Speaker 4: Was we do feel like we still can't write off
Speaker 4: the fact That whitteria went back To aurora Or. Chicago
Speaker 4: aurora might be less likely now that we have our new,
Speaker 4: records but her connection To aurora still remains a viable,
Speaker 4: option as do potential connections To chicago And. Juliet but,
Speaker 4: unfortunately we still haven't unearthed any new sightings of her
Speaker 4: or evidence that puts her in one of those, cities
Speaker 4: but we do have more information about possible, locations including
Speaker 4: new ones since we began this.
Speaker 3: Investigation in this, season we've traveled To, Elgin, Aurora, juliette
Speaker 3: and Now. Chicago we've gathered new records For wateria and
Speaker 3: they've been pretty valuable for. Us we've also spoken to
Speaker 3: some new people and some past, witnesses and we're continuing
Speaker 3: to seek additional new witnesses and records in this. Case
Speaker 3: we also discussed all of our original theories for this
Speaker 3: case up to this point in this, podcast so now moving,
Speaker 3: forward we have to consider the fact That whitteria could be,
Speaker 3: deceased regardless of which potential theory is actually.
Speaker 4: Correct next, Episode andrew AND i will discuss The National
Speaker 4: missing And Unidentified Person system OR, NamUs and our goal
Speaker 4: is to Update whyteria's case with FAMILIAL dna as we
Speaker 4: work to Modernize watereria's. Case we also discussed several area
Speaker 4: cases of missing women included in NAM us as we
Speaker 4: continue our search For Whyteria.
Speaker 6: Jones here, On Somebody Knows Something.
Speaker 2: If you or anyone you know has information about this
Speaker 2: case or any other cold case In. Elgin please contact
Speaker 2: The Elgin Police Department coldcase email At coldcase tips at
Speaker 2: elginil dot gov or the cold case tipline at eight
Speaker 2: four seven two eight nine. Cold you can also review
Speaker 2: cold case information on The Elginpolice department's coldcase page at
Speaker 2: www dot elgincoldcases dot, com where every cold, case, homicide
Speaker 2: and missingperson's case is listed with photographs and information about each.
Speaker 3: Case