WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:04.960 This podcast is based on information sourced primarily from police 2 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:09.560 and media reports, but certain names and other identifying details 3 00:00:09.960 --> 00:00:14.439 may have been changed or altered for privacy and security reasons. 4 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:19.719 While the events in cases discussed are based on real investigations, 5 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:24.960 some aspects may be simplified for time and for narrative purposes. 6 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:29.920 Voice actors have been used to read from statements or documents. 7 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:36.240 All information presented is intended solely to inform and raise awareness. 8 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:41.079 Hosts may discuss theories regarding the cases examined in this podcast, 9 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:45.960 but such discussions are not intended to and should not 10 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:51.439 be considered by the listener to be legal conclusions. All 11 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:56.840 persons discussed are considered innocent until proven guilty in a 12 00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:00.000 court of law. Listener discretion is advised. 13 00:01:02.479 --> 00:01:05.799 This is Chief Anna Lally. Welcome to Somebody Knows Something, 14 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:09.359 a podcast from the Elgin Police Department's Cold Case Unit. 15 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:12.680 In this podcast, we will shed new light on cold 16 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:16.439 cases in the city of Elgin by sharing untold details 17 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:20.519 and by encouraging anyone with information to come forward. You 18 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:23.359 will come along with real cold case detectives as they 19 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:26.840 investigate active cold cases in real time and seek justice 20 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:30.439 for the victims and closure for their families. We believe 21 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:33.239 that the Elgin Police Department and our community can work 22 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:36.680 together to bring closure to cold cases because we know 23 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:39.519 that in these cases, somebody knows something. 24 00:01:46.519 --> 00:01:48.959 Hello and welcome to somebody knows something. The Elgin Police 25 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:53.120 Department Cold Case Podcast. My name is Detective Andrew Houghton. 26 00:01:53.239 --> 00:01:56.439 An I'm Detective Chris Hall. On our last episode, we 27 00:01:56.560 --> 00:02:00.000 visited Aurora, Illinois, discussed why Teria Jones and her Husban 28 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:03.599 and Wyman. We discovered that a bus from downtown Elgin 29 00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:06.719 could have theoretically dropped off Bitteria off just a few 30 00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:09.560 blocks from her house him. We made that walk along 31 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:12.520 with Beth as we reviewed the theory that Whitteria could 32 00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:15.680 have traveled here in nineteen eighty two. We also discussed 33 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:19.159 Wayman Jones's nineteen eighty arrest for battery as we considered 34 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:22.840 his background for this investigation. Then we ended our episode 35 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:25.919 by disclosing that Wayman Jones was arrested one other time, 36 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:28.280 all the way back in nineteen sixty seven. 37 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:32.080 In this episode, we are traveling outside of Elgin once again, 38 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:34.400 to the city of Chicago to see the neighborhood where 39 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:36.680 the Jones family lived in the late nineteen sixties before 40 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:39.520 moving to Aurora, and it's the same neighborhood that Wayman 41 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:42.319 Jones lived in in November of nineteen sixty seven when 42 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:43.400 he was arrested for. 43 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:57.360 Partner Waityia and Wyman originally grew up in Tennessee, but 44 00:02:57.479 --> 00:03:00.719 in the mid nineteen sixties they traded the still segregated 45 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:03.840 South for the northern city of Chicago, Illinois. When they 46 00:03:03.960 --> 00:03:06.680 arrived in Illinois, the couple moved into an apartment in 47 00:03:06.719 --> 00:03:10.240 the West Garfield Park neighborhood. In the early twentieth century, 48 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:12.759 the area surrounding Garfield Park was the home of a 49 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:17.159 large immigrant population. In fact, the founder and later longtime 50 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:20.719 coach of the Chicago Bears, George Stanley Hallis, whose family 51 00:03:20.759 --> 00:03:23.639 was from Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, grew up in the 52 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:26.080 neighborhood back in the early nineteen hundreds. 53 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:29.719 Then, between nineteen sixty and nineteen seventy, the neighborhood began 54 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:32.159 to change, and Waityria and Wyman were part of that 55 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:35.879 transformation as the neighborhood shifted away from the mainly immigrant population. 56 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:39.840 After graduating from college in Tennessee, Weyman moved north to 57 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:42.639 work the Chicago Public school system, and shortly after that 58 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:45.120 Whitia followed him. It was there in the West Garfield 59 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:47.360 Park neighborhood that their family continued to grow. 60 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:51.360 By nineteen sixty seven, however, Waitia was spending some time 61 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:54.479 in Elgin, while Weyman remained in Chicago, working and raising 62 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:57.240 the couple's four children in the four thousand block of 63 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:00.840 West Gladys Avenue. Then, in the early morning hours of 64 00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:04.360 November eleventh, nineteen sixty seven, Wayman Jones was allegedly about 65 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:07.159 a block from his house at the Shadow Mar Lounge, 66 00:04:07.199 --> 00:04:10.240 located at four oh nine South Pulaski Road in Chicago, 67 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:13.759 when there was an incident outside the bar. The following 68 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:16.000 is a recreation of the radio traffic from the Chicago 69 00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:18.959 Police records for this case from one thirty am on 70 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:23.360 November eleventh, nineteen sixty seven, eleven o. 71 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:26.920 Eight to the apparent of Pulaski Road and shown. 72 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:30.639 Eleven ten. 73 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:37.360 Police quickly arrived into the area and discovered that a 74 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:40.240 twenty three year old black man named Otis Johnson had 75 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:42.759 been shot in the chest outside of the bar. Otis 76 00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:45.319 lived nearby as well, in the thirty eight hundred block 77 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:48.519 of West Gladys, and he died at the scene. Here's 78 00:04:48.519 --> 00:04:51.319 a portion of the actual Chicago Police Department report for 79 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:55.519 Otis Johnson's murder. Portions are edited and redacted for clarity 80 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:57.759 and to protect the identity of witnesses. 81 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:01.639 Upon our arrival, we were directed by Beat one one 82 00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:04.079 five oh who were at the scene to a man 83 00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:06.839 lying in the street, victim of a shooting and was 84 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:09.519 about to be taken to Garfield Park Hospital by Beat 85 00:05:09.639 --> 00:05:13.000 one one seven oh. Victim was pronounced dead by doctor 86 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:16.199 MacNeice at O one forty. This date, we interviewed the 87 00:05:16.279 --> 00:05:18.480 owner of the Shadow Mar Lounge, who stated that he 88 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:21.600 knew the victim as Popeye and that the victim was 89 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:25.319 in his establishment and left soon afterward. The witness heard 90 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:28.240 a shot but did not see the assailant. It was 91 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:30.959 learned from another witness that she observed a black male 92 00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:34.040 standing in front of the tavern at the above address 93 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:36.680 with what appeared to be a blue steel snub nosed 94 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:39.480 pistol in his hand, just as she was entering the tavern. 95 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:41.959 At this time, the victim was coming out of the 96 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:45.120 tavern and she was entering same This witness heard a 97 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:48.000 shot behind her and she ran further into the tavern. 98 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:51.480 That is all she knows. She described the offender as 99 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:55.639 follows mail black, thirty to thirty five years old, approximately 100 00:05:55.680 --> 00:05:58.240 six feet tall and one hundred sixty five pounds, with 101 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:02.120 a medium build, medium brown complexion, and wearing a dark hat, 102 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:05.519 dark checkered short cloth coat, and dark trousers, and carrying 103 00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:09.079 a gun unknown make a flash message was sent to 104 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:09.800 other units. 105 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:14.000 As it turned out, Waymon Jones was thirty four years old, 106 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:17.040 six feet one inches tall, and weighed approximately one hundred 107 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:19.199 and eighty pounds, and he lived about a block from 108 00:06:19.240 --> 00:06:22.319 the shooting. That day, November eleventh, was a Saturday, and 109 00:06:22.439 --> 00:06:25.120 soon after the shooting, the Chicago Police Department identified Waymon 110 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:27.480 Jones as a suspect in the case, and they issued 111 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:29.560 an arrest warrant for him for the charge of murder. 112 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:34.240 On November twenty fourth, the day after Thanksgiving, Wayman Jones 113 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:36.879 formally surrendered himself to the Chicago Police Department for that 114 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:40.079 murder warrant, and he was officially charged with the murder 115 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:41.160 of Otis Johnson. 116 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:52.920 At first glance, the Chicago case might not seem relevant 117 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:54.920 because we know that why Kerria was actually living in 118 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:57.680 Elgin in November of nineteen sixty seven. But, as we 119 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:00.759 said last episode, understanding a person's potential for violence is 120 00:07:00.800 --> 00:07:03.120 something that is crucial in all criminal investigations. 121 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:06.759 Last episode, we told listeners that at least one family 122 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:09.680 member alleged that there was domestic violence in the home 123 00:07:09.839 --> 00:07:13.160 when Waytyia lived in Aurora. But we didn't reveal is 124 00:07:13.199 --> 00:07:15.759 that the records that Beth recently got us revealed that 125 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:20.240 Whitteria herself also mentioned domestic violence in the home. So 126 00:07:20.839 --> 00:07:23.800 we now have a family member and why Tyia herself 127 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:27.279 disclosing violence within the home. Plus we know that Weyman 128 00:07:27.399 --> 00:07:29.759 was arrested for a simple battery in nineteen eighty. 129 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:33.040 Even though the murder case in Chicago isn't directly related 130 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:35.480 to Whitteria, we decided that it would be useful for 131 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:37.879 us to see the place where Otis's murder happened, and 132 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:40.160 to say, the apartment neighborhood where Waiteria lived in the 133 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:43.439 nineteen sixties before she moved to Aurora. So Chris and 134 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:45.279 I drove down to the city of Chicago to do 135 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:45.680 just that. 136 00:07:47.079 --> 00:07:52.199 All right, now we are on Van Buren and Kulaski. 137 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:57.560 Yeah, that's would have been the local neighborhood where Writiri 138 00:07:57.680 --> 00:07:59.079 and Weyman lived. 139 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:03.399 Back in sixty seven, early sixties or mid sixties to 140 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:04.040 sixty seven. 141 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:05.839 We know what Tiria was out in Elgin at this 142 00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:08.000 time that the murder happened. 143 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:14.040 But we're standing here at Pulaski and Van Buren's a 144 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:14.279 lot of. 145 00:08:14.279 --> 00:08:15.240 Traffic noise here. 146 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:18.480 The Shadow mar Lounge were been right here at the corner. 147 00:08:18.879 --> 00:08:24.800 So when the shooting happened, it was evening. Even looking 148 00:08:24.839 --> 00:08:25.720 around here, there's not a lot. 149 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:27.279 Of street lights. It was probably pretty dark. 150 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:29.439 Yeah, back then, especially. 151 00:08:30.120 --> 00:08:33.000 And going south to north you have Van Buren. 152 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:35.279 The next street north of here is Gladys, which is 153 00:08:35.320 --> 00:08:38.679 the street they lived on, and they were about four 154 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:41.000 or five houses, I think. 155 00:08:40.919 --> 00:08:44.039 Five buildings in from Pulaski to the west. 156 00:08:44.759 --> 00:08:46.600 That's gotta be what like two hundred feet did you 157 00:08:46.639 --> 00:08:47.039 ever take? 158 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:51.720 Yeah, there's an alleyway between here and Gladys that's maybe 159 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:53.559 two hunred feet away. That would get you into the 160 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:58.519 alleyway behind their house, and so it's maybe five hundred 161 00:08:58.559 --> 00:09:03.159 feet from here to the back door of the property. Yeah, 162 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:07.840 I mean, if a shooting happens and if he was involved, 163 00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:09.879 and we're not saying he was. Although he was charged 164 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:14.080 in this case, it was dismissed. Looking around, I mean, 165 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:16.399 you could disappear into the neighborhood pretty quickly. 166 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:20.600 It's pretty eagerly similar to Casey Kyle's case. 167 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:23.600 Yeah, I mean by the time somebody gets outside, that 168 00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:25.240 person's gone. Person's gone. 169 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:28.320 I mean there's alleyways on both both sides going east 170 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:32.480 to west. Gladys Avenue is a block from here, but 171 00:09:32.600 --> 00:09:37.080 the apartment where he lived and in nineteen sixty seven is, 172 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:41.200 like we said, five hundred feet away maybe. Yeah, So 173 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:43.720 it's pretty dense down here once you get off the Pulaski. 174 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:44.360 It's a very. 175 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:50.360 Very urban area with alleyways, a lot of Roehmes kind 176 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:53.000 of on top of each other back in here. So 177 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:54.720 I think once you get down an alleyway, you could 178 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:57.600 cut through these different gangways between different apartments and. 179 00:09:58.320 --> 00:09:59.120 It kind of be gone. 180 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:02.519 But it's easy to blind it down here. 181 00:10:03.240 --> 00:10:05.480 Yeah, Chicago felt enough to at least charge him in 182 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:07.559 the case, even though it was dismissed. But if you're 183 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:10.000 standing here on the corner where the entrance was to 184 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:14.000 the building, it's very, very very close to where he 185 00:10:14.120 --> 00:10:14.840 was living at the time. 186 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:27.879 So well as we said when we visited the neighborhood, 187 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:30.360 it certainly is a close walk or a run from 188 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:33.000 Wayman's address to the site of the homicide, and he 189 00:10:33.159 --> 00:10:37.000 was charged pretty quickly in that case. But unfortunately, one 190 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:39.360 problem with a case like this is that it's very 191 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:41.960 difficult to get a hold of extensive records for a 192 00:10:42.039 --> 00:10:46.159 case this old. The Chicago Police Department Identification Section has 193 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:49.080 been very helpful in getting us copies of the original 194 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:52.840 incident report and warn't arrest for this case, But Chicago 195 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:56.240 has thousands of old murder files, plus this one is 196 00:10:56.279 --> 00:10:57.679 from almost sixty years ago. 197 00:10:58.360 --> 00:10:59.799 The records we received were. 198 00:10:59.799 --> 00:11:03.879 On unfortunately extremely limited. Initially, when we began looking into this, 199 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:06.919 we were concerned that the homicide could be somehow related 200 00:11:06.960 --> 00:11:09.759 to Waitia, But thanks to the records that Beth got 201 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:12.240 us recently, we now know that she was not living 202 00:11:12.279 --> 00:11:14.360 in Chicago at the time of that homicide. 203 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:17.720 In reviewing the case files and the court case, we 204 00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:20.279 learned that Wayman Jones was indicted for murder by the 205 00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:23.159 Cook County Grand jury on January twenty third of nineteen 206 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:25.679 sixty eight. Even today, when someone is charged with a 207 00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:28.360 felony in Cook County, the State's Attorney's Office is the 208 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:31.960 agency that actually approves criminal charges or a warrant for them. 209 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:35.039 Process is called felony review, and we follow that same 210 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:37.720 procedure today for felony cases in both Cook County and 211 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:38.440 Kane County. 212 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:41.559 The defendant in this case was Weyman, and he was 213 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:43.960 arrested on the murder warrant that was authorized by the 214 00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:46.840 Cook County State's Attorney's Office and then he was booked 215 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:50.080 and processed in Chicago for that murder and after that 216 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:52.879 he was held in the jail today, once a defendant 217 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:55.559 is charged in a case, the Cook County State's Attorney's 218 00:11:55.600 --> 00:11:58.519 Office has a few options moving forward with the criminal case. 219 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:01.600 One can have a hearing before a judge or an 220 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:04.399 impanel a grand jury to hear facts of the case. 221 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:07.320 And typically, at least in my experience, and I know 222 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:10.039 and Andrews as well, that the Cook County State's Attorney's 223 00:12:10.039 --> 00:12:12.679 Office often seeks a bill of indictment before a grand 224 00:12:12.759 --> 00:12:15.879 jury for fel any cases, then they move forward with 225 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:19.120 a criminal case if an indictment is obtained. It appears 226 00:12:19.200 --> 00:12:21.639 that the same process was used even back in nineteen 227 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:24.960 sixty seven when Wayman was arrested and then he was charged, 228 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:28.000 and then he was indicted for the murder of Otis Johnson. 229 00:12:29.039 --> 00:12:31.519 That's true, but he was not convicted on this case, right. 230 00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:36.039 That's correct, and Wayman Jones's murder arrest was dismissed in 231 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:38.840 nineteen sixty eight, and as far as we can tell, 232 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:41.840 no one else has ever been charged in Otis Johnson's murder. 233 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:44.440 At this point, we haven't been able to determine the 234 00:12:44.519 --> 00:12:49.120 reason that the case was dismissed, but Wayman Jones was arrested, charged, 235 00:12:49.480 --> 00:13:04.919 and indicted for Otis's murder prior to that dismissal. Otis 236 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:07.840 Johnson's murder is just one murder in Chicago for which 237 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:08.960 there isn't a conviction. 238 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:11.159 Chicago is the third largest. 239 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:14.360 City in America, behind New York and Los Angeles, so 240 00:13:14.440 --> 00:13:18.559 the volume of criminal cases in general, including homicide, is large, 241 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:22.360 just like any other major urban city with massive populations. 242 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:26.159 According to uncovered dot com, there have been more than 243 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:30.759 fourteen thousand murders in Chicago since nineteen eighty, with over 244 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:35.039 eight thousand soft Unfortunately, just like with our cases, sometimes 245 00:13:35.279 --> 00:13:36.840 those cases still go cold. 246 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:40.200 Chicago has worked hard to add resources to address their 247 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:43.320 cold cases. They partner with other agencies like the Illinois 248 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:45.519 State Police and the FBI to work on cold cases, 249 00:13:45.720 --> 00:13:48.320 and they've also used civilian groups like crime Stoppers as well. 250 00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:52.159 CPD also has worked with victim groups, nonprofits, and they 251 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:54.480 have dedicated cold case detectives in each of the five 252 00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:56.919 areas of the city, all in an effort to solve 253 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:00.399 homicide cases and to continue to lower their overall hollmice rate. 254 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:03.320 Chicago has experienced success with this model. According to the 255 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:06.639 Council for Criminal Justice, Chicago experienced four hundred and sixteen 256 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:09.200 total homicides in twenty twenty five. That number is a 257 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:11.519 twenty nine percent decrease from the five hundred and eighty 258 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:14.399 seven recorded in twenty twenty four, and those twenty twenty 259 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:16.440 five numbers are the lowest number of homicides in the 260 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:18.759 city of Chicago since nineteen sixty five. 261 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.519 One innovative way that the Chicago Police Department has tried 262 00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:25.399 to create interest and leads in their cold cases is 263 00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:28.360 by launching a web series on the department's YouTube page. 264 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:31.440 The department first launched this program in twenty twenty two, 265 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:34.679 and currently you can find videos on the department's YouTube 266 00:14:34.679 --> 00:14:38.080 page that discussed the cold case murders of Elizabeth Dunlap 267 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:42.200 in nineteen seventy six, Lizzie Malcolm and Lucretia Lee in 268 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:46.039 nineteen eighty one, Brenda Graham in nineteen ninety nine, Kevin 269 00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:49.080 Kleher in two thousand and four, Veronica Williams in two 270 00:14:49.120 --> 00:14:52.919 thousand and seven, Kiera Coles in twenty eighteen, and Angie 271 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:55.440 Monroe and ELISAs Vargas in twenty nineteen. 272 00:14:56.600 --> 00:14:58.360 I know that we have used this podcast to garn 273 00:14:58.360 --> 00:15:01.000 our community interest and media in a tension for our cases, 274 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:03.639 and we will continue to do so. But we also 275 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:06.200 encourage our listeners to seek out information on cold cases 276 00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:08.480 in your own area so you can help drive community 277 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:11.440 interest on other cases as well. Oftentimes it is the 278 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:13.840 public who can help us or other agencies with media 279 00:15:13.879 --> 00:15:17.279 attention and tips, So please consider reviewing sites like Chicago 280 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:19.879 Police Department's web series that we just mentioned at others 281 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:22.000 to see if you can help bring closure to another 282 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:32.600 area cold case. One other angle that we wanted to 283 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:34.919 address but our Chicago connection, is that, as we said 284 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:37.279 in a prior episode, a trip to Chicago on either 285 00:15:37.320 --> 00:15:39.399 a bus or a train might make sense for Whyteria 286 00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:41.639 in nineteen eighty two. We know she could have made 287 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:44.120 her way directly to Aurora from downtown Elgin, but it 288 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:46.360 appears to get to Joliet or some other place she 289 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:48.240 would have more than likely had to go to Chicago. 290 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:51.840 If you have never been to Union Station in Chicago, 291 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:55.240 it is a massive complex that covers nearly ten city blocks, 292 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:58.759 with much of the station underground. The station houses commuter 293 00:15:58.879 --> 00:16:01.840 trains and nationwide reagreas, and it connects Chicago to over 294 00:16:01.960 --> 00:16:05.559 five hundred different cities. Located just west of the Chicago 295 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:08.840 River and adjacent to the Chicago Loop, Union Station today 296 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:11.879 is the fourth busiest train station in America, and it 297 00:16:11.960 --> 00:16:15.039 handles on average one hundred and forty thousand passengers a week. 298 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:19.320 Union Station first opened in nineteen twenty five. It was 299 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:21.440 actually the third station to be located on that site. 300 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:25.039 By eighteen seventy, Illinois had the most extensive railway system 301 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:27.720 in the United States, and Chicago was the main Midwestern 302 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:30.639 hub for trains from across the country. So Union Station 303 00:16:30.759 --> 00:16:33.320 was constructed by a union of four major railway companies 304 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:36.120 to accommodate the growing demand for passenger trains in the city. 305 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:39.519 When it opened, The Chicago Tribune wrote this about the 306 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:40.519 grand new station. 307 00:16:42.120 --> 00:16:45.639 In respect to both architecture and utility, the new station 308 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:47.559 is one of the most impressive in the world. 309 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:52.440 By nineteen eighty two, the commuter line from Elgin, the 310 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:56.399 Milwaukee Road or MR Line, ran from Elgin to Union Station, 311 00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:00.200 passing through eighteen stops on its way downtown, and there 312 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:02.200 was a Greyhound bus that left Elgin and went to 313 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:06.559 Chicago as well. So considering those options, why Tiia certainly 314 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:08.960 could have traveled to Union Station as a launch pad 315 00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:12.680 to Juliet or Aurora, or even Tennessee where she had family, 316 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:16.200 or even Texas where the Zemas owned another hotel. Really, 317 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:18.680 if she did go to Union Station, Whitia could have 318 00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:21.119 traveled to literally hundreds of other cities. 319 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:24.839 Since Chris and I were already in Chicago, we decided 320 00:17:24.839 --> 00:17:26.799 to head over to Union Station since it is another 321 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:29.640 location that we need to consider along Wakia's possible path 322 00:17:29.799 --> 00:17:30.640 in nineteen eighty two. 323 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:34.279 All right, we were here at just outside Union Station, 324 00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:38.440 down the city, and as expected, on a warm Tuesday afternoon, 325 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:44.279 as busy as ever, probably a likely spot that Criteria 326 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:46.640 would have ended up at if she was in between 327 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:51.000 traveling from uh she was potentially traveling out of state. 328 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:52.400 This is probably the best spot to go. 329 00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:55.279 Yeah, the train from Elgin would have taken her here 330 00:17:55.400 --> 00:17:59.440 to Union Station. She could have got to Juliette from here, 331 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:01.079 she could have got to or from here, she could 332 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:02.920 have gone to Texas from here, she could have gone 333 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:05.200 to really anywhere Tennessee. 334 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:07.920 It's a pretty major hub for a lot of areas. 335 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:10.400 The Greyhound buses would have come down here to downtown 336 00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:13.519 as well nearby, so we know that she could have 337 00:18:13.559 --> 00:18:16.720 come down to this area. We didn't really get into 338 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:21.720 the logistics of getting to Joliette from the train, So 339 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:23.799 you could do that from here from the station. 340 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:25.920 There's also another option, which is LaSalle Street. 341 00:18:26.519 --> 00:18:28.039 So we're gonna drive over there here in a minute 342 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:29.559 just kind of see how far that is from here, 343 00:18:29.599 --> 00:18:31.079 but I know it's about a half a mile away. 344 00:18:31.200 --> 00:18:32.359 Yeah, pretty far a walk for her. 345 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:34.359 If she tried to do that with luggage or a 346 00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:36.480 suitcase or anything substantial as far as her. 347 00:18:36.599 --> 00:18:39.519 Personal property, Yeah, this doesn't make a lot of sense 348 00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:42.359 to do that if you can do it from Union Station, 349 00:18:42.519 --> 00:18:44.240 Like why take a train down here to go to 350 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:46.240 Joliette and then walk to another. 351 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:49.240 Train to get out there. Yeah, so this would be 352 00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:51.039 a pretty likely location. 353 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:54.400 If she was leaving Elgind to go to Joliette, she 354 00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:59.599 would almost certainly have come through this location. But like 355 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:01.519 we said, that's getting gon to Tennessee from here or 356 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:03.640 really anywhere in the country, because you have the option 357 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:06.400 to take Amtrak from down here, yep, Metro trains to 358 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:10.279 other cities, the buses downtown, the CTA is close by. 359 00:19:10.440 --> 00:19:14.240 So if she came into Chicago, I mean, the options 360 00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:15.839 are kind of limitless for her. 361 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:17.839 Yeah, even nice in eighty three. 362 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:22.200 So well, as we said, if Waityia did come to Chicago, 363 00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:24.839 she certainly could have gone back to Tennessee or to 364 00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:26.920 a bunch of other locations. And if she wanted to 365 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:29.039 get to Joliette, she could have taken a train from 366 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:31.960 the Union Station or LaSalle Street. We didn't get very 367 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:35.440 specific about downtown joliet and our joliet episode, but the 368 00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:38.799 trains from Chicago terminate in downtown joliet on the east 369 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:41.680 side of the river. The Joliette Motor Hotel is about 370 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:45.359 a mile walk from the downtown station, so it's definitely feasible. 371 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:48.400 Plus there are bus stops along Western Avenue, with some 372 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:50.799 as close as with blocks from the Joliette Motor Hotel. 373 00:19:51.400 --> 00:19:54.160 It is entirely plausible that Waititiia could have gone to 374 00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:57.200 Chicago and then taken the train to joliet and then 375 00:19:57.359 --> 00:19:59.720 either walked to take a short bus ride over to 376 00:19:59.720 --> 00:20:02.960 the whole tell if that was her ultimate destination. 377 00:20:03.799 --> 00:20:07.319 While in elegent in Chicago to Juliete connection is entirely possible. 378 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:09.839 We now know that she could go to Tennessee or 379 00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:12.200 Texas as well, because we have connections to those areas, 380 00:20:12.839 --> 00:20:16.119 so we will continue to consider those destinations. But one 381 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:18.119 of our other theories is that something could have happened 382 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:20.720 while she was enroute to her next destination, regardless of 383 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:23.359 where that destination was. So let's talk a little bit 384 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:34.640 about that theory here in this episode. To get an 385 00:20:34.680 --> 00:20:37.200 idea of Chicago crime and missing persons in nineteen eighty two, 386 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:39.839 we turned to the Chicago Police Department's nineteen eighty two 387 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:43.119 Annual Report. That report documents crime for the calendar year 388 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:45.440 of nineteen eighty two, and it listed that there were 389 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:47.759 six hundred and sixty eight murders in Chicago that year. 390 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:50.839 Chicago's clearance rate on those murders was actually eighty seven 391 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:53.400 point seven percent, which is a really high number. The 392 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:56.079 report also listed that there were seventeen thousand, two hundred 393 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:58.480 and ninety four missing person cases reported in Chicago in 394 00:20:58.599 --> 00:21:01.559 nineteen eighty twough oo oh. The overwhelming majority of those 395 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:03.519 cases were either unfounded or cleared. 396 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:06.680 Andrew and I decided that we also wanted to take 397 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:09.559 a look at NamUs and review any cold case missing 398 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:13.680 persons cases, specifically for black females like Waeteria in the 399 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:16.759 Chicago area between nineteen eighty and nineteen ninety, to see 400 00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:19.799 if we had anything similar to her case. While we 401 00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:22.519