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The five women came to the suburban clothing store for such ordinary reasons.One, the mother of a disabled child, wanted to find something nice to wear for a rare girls' night out. Another needed work clothes for her first post-college job.One was choosing an outfit to wear at a gathering of old college friends later that night, and yet another was shopping, reportedly while in town with her husband for a conference.And the final victim, the manager of the Tinley Park Lane Bryant store, came in to help on a busy Saturday, even though she had not been scheduled to be there.Police on Sunday identified the five women killed in the shopping center shooting a day earlier as Connie R. Woolfolk, 37, of Flossmoor; Jennifer L. Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Ind.; Rhoda McFarland, 42, of Joliet; Sarah Szafranski, 22, of Oak Forest; and Carrie Hudek Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort.They were five women of different races and walks of life, strangers bound only by an unthinkable fate that brought them to the clothing store within an hour of its opening.
TINLEY PARK, Ill. -- Tinley Park police have released a composite drawing of the suspect in the shooting deaths of five women at a Lane Bryant clothing store last weekend. The sketch of the man is based on a description provided by the sole survivor of the shootings. Authorities have described the gunman as a black man, between 5 feet 9 and 6 feet tall and between 200 to 230 pounds with thick braided hair and a receding hairline. Meanwhile, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition said that the Rev. Jesse Jackson plans to lay a wreath Sunday at the store and hold a prayer vigil. In a release, the coalition said Jackson wants to mourn the loss of the women and call attention to the fight for stricter gun laws.
02/08/08
TINLEY PARK, Ill. -- Police say the gunman who killed five at a Tinley Park Lane Bryant may have planned on robbing customers as they entered the store. And a 911 call may have set off the deadly rampage.
Meanwhile, Tinley Park police secured an area off Interstate 80 late Friday for a massive grid search
The gun used in the deadly robbery gone wrong still has not been found. And the shooter remains at large.
The search started on the exit ramp from I-80 to Harlem Avenue, then moved to a nearby exit ramp of northbound LaGrange Road. Police could be seen walking shoulder-to-shoulder, searching the ground for evidence.
A source told the SouthtownStar that the Lane Bryant killer became enraged when he overheard the store's manager on her cell phone with a police dispatcher.
The gunman, still at large, shot the manager Rhoda McFarland twice and also shot five other women with a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun, according to a law enforcement source.
One of the women survived her wounds and is in protective custody helping detectives catch the killer.
Members of the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, who are handling the case, said they believe the killer hatched a plan to take control of the store on Feb. 2 and rob any woman who entered.
The victims were held at gunpoint and taken to the rear of the women's clothing store at 191st Street and Harlem Avenue, where they were bound with duct tape and their heads covered, the source said.
Police recently confirmed the killer fondled one of the victims.
But when McFarland, 42, an ordained minister from Joliet, was able to get to her cell phone and call police, the killer heard the dispatcher's voice.
The irate gunman then began opening fire on the prone women.
The SouthtownStar, a suburban newspaper, filed for the release of Tinley Park police's 911 tapes under the Freedom of Information Act, but was denied because the investigation is ongoing.
Investigators have been awaiting tests on physical evidence found at the scene, numerous sources have said.
The evidence is being fast-tracked at the Illinois State police crime laboratory.
At the daily press conference Friday, Tinley Park police Cmdr. Rick Bruno said detectives had no new details to release and that they did not yet have enough details from the surviving witness to release an accurate sketch of the killer.
"This should not be interpreted as an indication that the investigation has stalled in any way," he said. "The investigation continues at a brisk pace and new leads are developing every day."
Bruno was speaking as a funeral for victim Jennifer Bishop began in Indiana.
The funerals of Sarah Szafranski, Connie Woolfolk and Rhoda McFarland are all set for Saturday.
The fifth victim, Carrie Hudek Chiuso, was honored at a funeral in Homewood Thursday.
Update 02/07/08
They've received more than 170 tips to a special hot line set up in the case. They added that they have more the 50 detectives on the case who've logged more than 2,000 hours on the investigation
With that more detailed description, police are also making an appeal to barber shops and hair salons that perform braiding in the area in the hopes that someone might be able to make a match.
Jennifer Bishop
Jennifer Bishop, a mother of three children under 8, rose through the nursing ranks at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, after graduating from college in 1996, hospital staff said. She joined Memorial as a student-nurse, later ascending to shift supervisor.
For the last four years, Bishop had worked in the intensive care unit, said the hospital's administration supervisor Nancy Pemberton.
"Memorial Hospital is a level-two trauma center. These nurses take care of gunshot victims, the worst of the worst," Pemberton said. "But when it's one of your own, it's unbelievable. The intensive care nurses are in a state of shock, total disbelief."
Pemberton described Bishop as soft spoken and compassionate. She had beautiful eyes," Pemberton said. "She was an exceptional person, an exceptional nurse because she was so very caring of every one."
WSBT-TV in South Bend reported that Bishop traveled to the Chicago area with her husband, Brian, who attended a roofing conference.
Brian Bishop declined to comment when reached on his cell phone Sunday.
Jennifer Bishop "was very well liked, very popular," hospital spokeswoman Ruth Linster said. "Her co-workers were tremendously upset when they heard the news. It's such a shock. You don't go shopping and expect anything like this to happen."
Carrie Hudek Chiuso
Carrie Hudek Chiuso was a Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School graduate who had returned to school a decade later as a social worker. Family remembered her as a loving wife who had dedicated her life to counseling troubled teens.
"The students trusted her," said Patti Baldwin, a neighbor and co-worker for the last five years.
Outside Lane Bryant on Sunday afternoon, friends of the victims gathered. Some came to pray, others contributed to a growing memorial. Bouquets of flowers were placed next to yellow police tape, which draped in front of the store.
"She was very dedicated to students and she connected well with them," said Mike Cunha, who was a fellow teen counselor and classmate of Chiuso's at the south suburban high school. "She has always had that attitude, 'I'm here and I'm ready to help and I'm going to do my best.'"
Chiuso had stopped at the store to purchase an outfit to wear to a gathering of old college friends from DePaul. After shopping, she planned to attend a birthday party for the 2-year-old daughter of her cousin, Susan Glover.
"She's going to leave such a big hole in people's hearts," Glover said. "I hope she is remembered for all her wonderful deeds and not for what this maniac did."
Rhoda McFarland
Store manager Rhoda McFarland knew her employees would be stretched on Saturday after the corporate office last week mailed customers fliers promoting a big $9.99 clearance sale. Rather than force her staff to go it alone, the Joliet woman decided to pitch in.
She showed up for work Saturday morning, a move that would not have surprised her subordinates, former employee Sandra McGhee said. McFarland often popped into the store on her day off to see if she could help behind the register or assist customers on the floor.
"We would laugh and tell her that she should enjoy her time off, but she loved her job and the people she worked with," McGhee said. "She would go the extra mile."
McFarland, who got engaged over the holidays, applied for a job at Lane Bryant a year ago after leaving her post as pastor of Embassy Christian Center in Crest Hill. She initially applied for the retail job as a way to make ends meet until she found something else, relatives said, but she enjoyed the work so much she decided to stay.
It was another detour in a professional career that began with a stint in the Air Force, where she served as nurse practitioner. After leaving the military, McFarland returned to the Chicago area and began working as a pastoral assistant at Embassy Christian.
She worked at the church for several years before deciding to become a minister. Once ordained, she ran the congregation's youth programs and launched a self-esteem program for young girls called Princess Unveiled.
"She always talked about destiny and purpose," said McGhee, who has known McFarland since 2001. "She would help people realize what they really wanted out of life." Embassy Christian, however, changed directors about a year ago and McFarland decided not to join the new pastoral staff. She continued to answer her Christian calling at Lane Bryant, often using her employee discount to buy clothes for people who were less fortunate.
"She was a great person," her brother Maurice Hamilton said. "She'd do anything for you. If you needed a dollar, and she only had a dollar, she'd give it to you without asking."
Sarah Szafranski
The future looked promising for Sarah Szafranski on May 12, 2007. She graduated from Northern Illinois University that day with a degree in finance and a job already lined up at CNA Financial Corp. in the city. "She was probably the nicest girl I have ever met in my life," said her college roommate Pete Inorio. "She was smart and funny. She was just a sweetheart."
Szafranski enjoyed playing board games such as Cranium and competing in Bears trivia contests. On her Facebook page, she raves about a recent Bruce Springsteen concert, shares photos of her spring break trip to Cozumel, Mexico, and brags about the impressive scores she received on online geography quizzes.
"It's been the best year of my life," she wrote on her boyfriend's Facebook page in October.
Her superlative year included a new job in the accounting department of CNA Financial, friends said. Saturday morning, she had gone to Lane Bryant to buy more winter work clothes.
Police released a statement from her family at a new conference Sunday.
"Our emotions are raw. And we are still in shock," they said in the statement. "Sarah was loved by all who knew her and we are counting on that love to sustain us while we mourn."
Connie Woolfolk
Connie Woolfolk had big plans Saturday. Her friends had invited her for a girls night out at Ed & Joe's Pizza in Tinley Park -- and she actually accepted this time.
Such outings were rare for Woolfolk, who has two sons ages 16 and 10. Her youngest child suffers from spina bifida and required much of his mother's time and attention, family members said.
Woolfolk so seldom had a night out, she treated herself to a manicure and pedicure Saturday before heading to Lane Bryant to buy a new outfit. When she didn't show up for a scheduled meeting with a client at 2 p.m., her family grew increasingly worried.
Her brother, Eric, went to the coroner's office to identify her body that evening. After seeing his sister's body, he left her with a plush crimson heart that read "Forever and Ever."
Woolfolk had once given the pillow to one of her sons.
She was a great mom to both her boys," said her friend JoAnn Hill of Dearborn, Mich. "She loved her boys."
Woolfolk, who worked as a mortgage lender, lived with her mother and two sons. To help make ends meet in the troubled housing market, she took a second job stocking shelves overnight at the Super Target in the same Tinley Park shopping center.
She was also the social center of her extended family, the one who always volunteered to hold cookouts, birthday parties and holiday get-togethers.
"She was a good woman," said her ex-husband Victor Rodriguez. "She was ambitious and strong. He didn't have to kill her."
Lane Bryant Announces the Establishment of the Lane Bryant Tinley Park Memorial Fund
Lane Bryant has announced the establishment of The Lane Bryant Tinley Park Memorial Fund to honor the lives and memories of the five women who lost their lives on February 2, 2008 in Tinley Park. The Memorial Fund is being administered through Harris Bank, and is intended to provide financial assistance to the immediate families of the victims.
The Lane Bryant Tinley Park Memorial Fund honors the women who lost their lives in this tragic event:
Jennifer L. Bishop of South Bend, Indiana Carrie A. Chiuso of Frankfort, Illinois Rhoda McFarland, the store manager of the Tinley Park Lane Bryant store, of Joliet, Illinois Sarah T. Szafranski of Oak Forest, Illinois Connie R. Woolfolk of Flossmoor, Illinois LuAnn Via, President of Lane Bryant stated, "We have received an incredible outpouring of concern, prayers and offers of help from the community and our associates. So many have asked how they can help the families of the victims of this horrible tragedy. I would like to personally thank each and every person who has telephoned us, emailed us, or visited our stores to relay their support. I thank you all deeply for your heartfelt words."
"We are deeply saddened by the loss of these vibrant women," said Tim Crane, President, Harris Community Bank. "All of us at Harris were shocked by the tragedy and we are honored to join with Lane Bryant and the community to remember their lives."
All funds collected will benefit the victims' families, and will be distributed equally among the five victims' families. Periodic distributions will be made to the families until the fund is exhausted.
Donations may be made by check or money order and will be accepted at all Harris Bank locations. Checks should be made payable to "Lane Bryant Tinley Park Memorial Fund", and mailed to:
The Lane Bryant Tinley Park Memorial Fund Harris Bank 19500 S. Harlem Avenue Frankfort, IL 60423 ATTN: Sandy Kozin