2 Women, 1 Pregnant, Found Strangled And Burned

[odette]

2 Women, 1 Pregnant, Found Strangled And Burned

Missing Pregnant Woman's Family Hoping Body Was Not Of Their Loved One

cbs2chicago.com - Nov 15, 2007

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The family of a missing pregnant woman is holding out hope after the gruesome discovery of two murdered women in the area.

Twenty-one-year old Theresa Bunn has been missing since Monday night. She is eight months pregnant.

Details are coming out Wednesday night about the two bodies found near Washington Park this week.

As CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports, both women were strangled before their bodies were set on fire. And Wednesday night a mother is hoping and praying that one of those victims is not her daughter.

The burnt body of a woman was found about midnight Tuesday in an alley only two miles from where a second body was discovered Wednesday morning.

The woman found at 6125 S. Prairie Ave., Tuesday was pregnant, a law enforcement source said. Meanwhile, police asked Bunn's family for her dental records "to take it to the morgue and see if it's one of the women who was burnt up," said her mother, Rosemary Williams.

Detectives from Wentworth and Calumet areas were working together to see whether the cases were related. — continued

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http://cbs2chicago.com/local/woman.burned.body.2.567287.html

[odette]

Cops Identify Burned Body Of Pregnant Woman

Police Flock In After 2 Strangled, Charred Bodies Found Near Each Other On South Side

cbs2chicago.com - Nov 15, 2007

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Police late Thursday afternoon identified one of the two women found strangled and burned on the South Side. The family was holding out hope it was not their loved one.

As CBS 2's Rafael Romo reports, 21-year-old Theresa Bunn had been missing since Monday, when she told her mother she was meeting a friend at the mall.

"She never did make it," Bunn's mother, Rosemary Williams said Wednesday night. "She said she was going to call us about eight o'clock. She never did call. So I haven't heard nothing from her or seen her."

Chicago police confirmed Thursday afternoon Bunn's body is the one found in a dumpster in a vacant lot near 61st Street and Prairie Avenue on Monday, just before midnight.

"Theresa Bunn's family was contacted by detectives from our special victim's unit yesterday," said Deputy Chief Michael Shields of the Detective Division.

Police say the body was burned beyond recognition. Detectives had to use dental records to positively identify the victim, who was eight months pregnant. — continued

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Theresa Bunn, 21, was eight months pregnant.

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http://cbs2chicago.com/local/burned.bodies.strangled.2.568321.html

[odette]

http://i7.tinypic.com/82vkwhg.jpg
A woman's body was found in a burning garbage
can among these dumpsters behind Reavis
Elementary School — CBS

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/burned.bodies.strangled.2.568321.html

[odette]

Police identify 1st of 2 women found dead

chicagotribune.com - Angela Rozas and Azam Ahmed - November 15, 2007

Authorities today identified one of the two bodies found strangled and burned in separate garbage bins as that of Theresa Bunn, 21. — continued

Excerpt: Deputy Police Chief Michael Shields said today that a canvass by police this morning gave them at least one good lead on the other woman's identity. One person approached police officers who were handing out fliers and said a friend might have clothes that matched the description of those police said were found on the body.

Shields said police were working on that lead, trying to determine if that personhas been reported missing. He did not divulge the person's identity.

"This is just developing," he said. "I think we're getting a lot of information."

Chicago police fanned out today near where the women were found.

Excerpt: Shields also said that there were a "number of pieces of evidence" found at the crime scenes that have been sent to the Illinois State Police crime lab for testing. He declined to elaborate.

Shields said they have no suspects in either homicide.

"There are similarities in the manner of death and how the bodies were disposed of," police spokeswoman Monique Bond said.

Police sources said Wednesday that Bunn was pregnant, and that there appeared to be accelerant on her body. Shields confirmed today that Bunn was pregnant but said police have not yet determined if the substance found on the body was accelerant. State police tests will help confirm that, he said.

Police are working on identifying the body of the second woman, discovered in the 800 block of East 50th Street, behind Reavis Elementary School. Firefighters responded at 12:50 a.m. Wednesday to a report of a fire in an alley and discovered the remains after extinguishing the blaze.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-bodyfoundnov15,0,2547973.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed

[odette]

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Sites where bodies were found

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-bodyfoundnov15,0,2547973.story?coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed

[odette]

1 of strangled victims was pregnant, cops say

CRIME | Similarities being probed in 2 South Side slayings

suntimes.com - ANNIE SWEENEY AND BEN GOLDBERGER - November 15, 2007

Chicago Police detectives are checking for similarities in the strangulations of two women who were also set on fire and left in South Side garbage containers, authorities said.

One of the victims was pregnant, sources said.

Neither victim has been identified, but both were strangled, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

The first victim was found at 11:45 p.m. Monday in a garbage can in a vacant lot in the 6100 block of South Prairie. Then, at 1 a.m. Wednesday, a second victim was found about two miles away in a garbage can in the 800 block of East 50th Street.

The woman found on Prairie was pregnant, a law enforcement source said. Meanwhile, the family of a missing pregnant woman told the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday they had been contacted by police who were seeking dental records.

Detectives from Wentworth and Calumet areas were working together to see whether the cases were related. — continued

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Theresa Bunn (Courtesy)

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/651785,CST-NWS-missing15.article

[odette]

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Family of Pregnant Woman, Murdered and
Burned, Calls for Justice

http://i15.tinypic.com/6s97bpg.gif (http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=4947266&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1)

[RaVeN71806]

This is so sad...:( I really hope they find the person or people that did this to these poor girls...

[odette]

1st murder victim identified

City cops canvass worried neighbors

November 16, 2007

Excerpt: "She's dead. She's dead. My sister's dead!" Bunn's sister cried outside the family's home as neighbors on nearby porches shook their heads in disbelief. Sobbing family members ushered the woman's sister back inside.

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Officer John Franklin (left) conducts a roll call Thursday near the sites, 2 miles apart, where two women were found strangled and burned this week on Chicago's South Side. (Tribune photo by Zbigniew Bzdak / November 15, 2007)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-burnedbodies16nov16,0,7986404.story?coll=chi_sport s_util

[odette]

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Theresa Bunn is one of the two women found strangled and left burning in trash bins near a South Side park this week. (Family Photo)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-burnedbodies16nov16,0,7986404.story?coll=chi_sport s_util

[odette]

Family fears for missing girl as cops investigate burned bodies

November 18, 2007

The disappearance of a 14-year-old South Side girl, a straight-A student who kept vigil over her hospitalized mother in the days before she was last seen, has grown more worrisome to her family as police continue to investigate the strangulations of two women near Washington Park, not far from where the family lives. — continued

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-missing19nov19,0,4405888.story?coll=chi-news-hed

[Mishell1383]

Wow, how tragically sad.

:rose: Rest In Peace Theresa Bunn


:rose: For the second victim, may your family find answers as to who you are. :(

[LatrobeGirl]

This is horrifying....because it already seems that this could be a serial killer at work, if there are no connections between the victims....

How tragic for their families... Theresa was a beautiful young lady......Prayers of comfort for both families:rose:

:rose: Theresa Bunn :rose: Baby Bunn :rose: Unknown woman :rose:

[odette]

Identity of second woman still unknown

By CARRIE TOPOLINSKI - Nov. 19, 2007

The identity of a second woman found strangled and burned in a South Side garbage remains unknown, a spokeswoman for the Cook County medical examiner's office said today.

Last week, the medical examiner's office identified the body of 21-year-old Theresa Bunn of 6159 S. Maplewood, using dental records.

Police discovered Bunn, who was eight months pregnant, in a burning garbage bin at 6100 Prairie Street last week.

The body of the second woman was found two days later in a burning garbage bin behind Reavis Elementary School at 834 E. 50th St.

According to the medical examiner's office, both women were strangled before being set on fire.

Bunn was last heard from during the afternoon Nov. 12 when she told family members she was going to Evergreen Park Mall but then changed her plans saying she was going to the Ford City Mall instead, police said.

http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Chicago+news/2007/11/19/Identity_of_second_woman_still_unknown

[Mishell1383]

i dont mean to be graphic, but if they were burned how do they know the woman were strangled?

[odette]

i dont mean to be graphic, but if they were burned how do they know the woman were strangled?

I was wondering about that as well Mishell .. Maybe whatever it was that the killer used to strangle the women was still tied tightly around their necks?. :(

[packy]

Thanks for keeping the updates on this case, Odette. My first thought is that we have a serial killer at work. That is unless the second female knew about the first murder. I hope they keep this case in the public eye and give as much detail as they can, something may help give a clue.

[odette]

Missing 14-Year-Old Could be South Side Murder Victim

19 Nov 2007

Chicago -- Chicago police are trying to answer questions about a missing teenage girl. She's been gone for almost a week. Now, investigators want to know if she's the second of two people found strangled and burned on the south side. The girl's mother talked to Andy Roesgen who has this report.

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http://i22.tinypic.com/sfj5oh.gif » Missing Teen Could be Murder Victim
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=4982233&version=3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1

[Bluefox]

In strangulation, the hyoid bone is often broken, especially when excessive force is used, this would be found during an autopsy. These women were killed only two days apart from each other, if it's a serial killer, either there will be more cases already existing which can be linked, OR maybe this one is just starting out. He has to be a psychopath, to target a woman so obviously pregnant, and a 14 yr old girl. Being a 'new' serial killer could point to the fact that he did choose what would seem to him, two weaker targets to begin with. If he needed to kill twice in just a couple of days, he may hit soon again. I hope women in the area will be very careful, as they tend to kill in a cluster, in the same area, particularly if they maybe live there, and know the place well. Burning the bodies is a very deliberate act of trying to destroy forensic evidence.

I hope they catch him soon, for he murdered a baby too. My heartfelt sympathy to the families.

[odette]

Teen's Family Worried She Is S. Side Murder Victim

Girl Was Last Seen While Walking 1 Mile From Site Where Woman's Strangled, Burned Body Was Found

Dana Kozlov -- Nov 20, 2007

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The family of a girl missing for more than a week is fearing the worst Monday night, as police continue to search for the missing teen.

As CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports, Deanna Glass' disappearance coincides with the gruesome discovery of two strangled and burned bodies near her South Side neighborhood. — continued

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Deanna Glass -- CBS

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/deanna.glass.missing.2.592668.html

[odette]

Dental records sought in disappearance of Bronzeville girl

By CARRIE TOPOLINSKI -- Nov. 20, 2007

The Cook County medical examiner's office has requested dental records from the family of a 14-year-old South Side girl who disappeared Nov. 13.

Chicago Police spokeswoman and officer Laura Kubiak said today that police have no reason to believe that the disappearance of eighth-grader Deanna Glass is related to last week's discovery of the bodies of two women who had been strangled and set on fire, but had to rule out the possibility. — continued

http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Chicago+news/2007/11/20/Dental_records_sought_in_disappearance_of_Bronzevi lle_girl

[odette]

Missing South Side Teen Returns Home Safely

Nov 21, 2007

Police say a missing 14-year-old girl from Chicago's South Side has returned home safely after being missing for more than a week.

They say Deanna Glass returned home at 7 p.m. on her own accord and appears to be in good health. — continued

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/deanna.glass.missing.2.593665.html

[LatrobeGirl]

Wow- her family has reason to be especially thankful! I'm very glad for them....but I'm sure that child is in T-R-O-U-B-L-E (as she should be....keeping her family in constant worry for over a week). Hopefully some counseling will be offered to them, because if a teen is running off like that, it shows that something is "off" in that family.

Unfortunately, some other family is in for some bad news....:(

[AlsoKnownAs]

What I pick up from the articles that Deanna's behavior was out of character. Glad she was 'lucky'.

:rose: :rose: :rose: Catch him soon. Be Careful Out There. AKA

[Mishell1383]

Wow- her family has reason to be especially thankful! I'm very glad for them....but I'm sure that child is in T-R-O-U-B-L-E (as she should be....keeping her family in constant worry for over a week). Hopefully some counseling will be offered to them, because if a teen is running off like that, it shows that something is "off" in that family.

Unfortunately, some other family is in for some bad news....:(
Not to be combative by any means, but that doesn't necessarily mean the family is "off" Sometimes, children run away when they are grounded, or they can't do something. Its a way to get attention, or to try to prove a point. It doesn't necessarily mean anyone is off. IMO, of course. But I have ran away because I got grounded. I was an extremely unruly child, and didn't take well to authority and my parents tried everything, and I give them credit for not giving up. It was all me not them.

But I do agree with the rest of your post. :seeya:

[Bluefox]

Not to be combative by any means, but that doesn't necessarily mean the family is "off" Sometimes, children run away when they are grounded, or they can't do something. Its a way to get attention, or to try to prove a point. It doesn't necessarily mean anyone is off. IMO, of course. But I have ran away because I got grounded. I was an extremely unruly child, and didn't take well to authority and my parents tried everything, and I give them credit for not giving up. It was all me not them.

But I do agree with the rest of your post. :seeya:

I agree with you Mishell1383. I think it was some teenage angst which caused her to 'run away' (I'm sure the report said she had done it before) Maybe she just needs time out when she feels put upon. But she goes back home. Most teenagers who run away, and stay away, to the point of living on the streets, are the ones with the real reasons to stay away!

[odette]

2nd woman found burned on S. Side identified

BY ANNIE SWEENEY Crime Reporter - November 23, 2007

Authorities have identified the second of two women found strangled and burning in South Side garbage receptacles last week.

Hazel Lewis, 52, was identified by dental records Friday afternoon, according to Chicago Police.

Her body was found Nov. 14 in the 800 block of East 50th. ...

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/664711,112307murders.article

[odette]

Burned woman was mother of three

SOUTH SIDE | Body of 2nd victim identified, family gets the news

November 24, 2007

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/665463,CST-NWS-body24.article

[odette]

Slain woman's family seeks closure, justice

November 26, 2007

Stuffed animals, rose bouquets and blue signs reading "It's a boy!" ringed a tree in the dusty abandoned lot Sunday, reminding nearly four dozen family and friends who gathered in the cold of their double loss here earlier this month. ..... continued

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chicagotribune.com (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-bunnvigil_26nov26,0,1605199.story?coll=chi_sports_ baseball_cubs_util/tag/Israeli%20AG%20Halts%20Electricity%20Cut%20to%20Ga za)

[odette]

Burned Woman's Family Asks Killer To Turn Self In

Nov 25, 2007

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/theresa.bunn.burned.2.595183.html

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Theresa Bunn, 21, was eight months pregnant when she went missing. - CBS