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Post by Jimmy C on Feb 11, 2015 13:05:40 GMT -6
On September 23rd, Deborah Kozlarek, 17, and Carolyn Vandermolen, 13, both from Chicago, were found slain in Washington Park. This murder seemed to baffle police; fifteen years earlier they had a similar case of the Grimes sisters. The Grimes sisters up until this date still have not been solved, so police wanted to take all the steps necessary to try and solve this one. Both of these bodies were discovered in the park, on Saturday, by a jogger at about 7:30am. According to police, each of them had apparently been shot with a .32 caliber bullet. The girls were last seen the previous night about 8pm, near their homes. How the girls got to the park remained a mystery, so the police backtracked and tried to piece together the final moments. Three separate teams of detectives canvassed the neighborhood looking for clues and talking with neighbors. Investigators interviewed acquaintances, close friends, and talked with shop owners. The investigators theorized that the pair probably hitchhiked a ride from their killer or met him in the neighborhood. Neighbors claim they were known for hitching rides to get around town. Deborah, who was working as a waitress at the Motor World Lounge, 5300 S. Pulaski, had worked that Friday evening until 5pm. Her scheduled day off was Saturday. Carolyn was seen buying cigarettes early that evening at the Open Pantry Food Mart near her house. She was in the 8th grade at St. Augustine on 50th and Laflin Street. read more at: link Short video of the crime scene link
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Post by Jimmy C on Feb 13, 2015 8:27:27 GMT -6
The position in which the bodies were found possibly indicates a gang connection. According to news reports the girls were lain in a "V" formation with their feet together and upper bodies apart. The V is indicative of the Vice Lords. During the time the girls were killed an upheaval was taking place within the Vice Lords upper echelon. Two of their top leaders retired leaving no leadership in control. Many splinter groups formed and spread out within the city. Consequently, various gangs were infiltrating all the high schools. Debbie Kozlarek had quit Gage Park High School after she claimed a Black female gang member had stabbed her in the leg. Further research indicates that the girls lived in the heart of the Gaylords gang territory. It is quite possible that the Black girl was part of one of the Vice Lords splinter groups and Debbie was a member of the Gaylords, (although there is no real indication of that). If so, the position of the bodies could have indicated a message from the Vice Lords.
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Post by Jimmy C on Feb 18, 2015 17:50:55 GMT -6
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Post by Jimmy C on Feb 20, 2015 5:29:20 GMT -6
TImeline of the last day of their lives
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 22 1972
2:00 pm. Carolyn dismissed from St Augustine school at 50th-Laflin.
2:15 pm. On her way home from school, Carolyn briefly visits the home of a friend at 50th-Elizabeth.
Before 3pm ?. Carolyn leaves her home at 5131 S Elizabeth, after an argument with her father about spending the night at Debbie Kozlarek's home.
3:00pm. SPECULATION. Carolyn calls Debbie at Motor World from a pay phone nearby on 51st street, to tell her that she's had another fight with her
father, and to avoid her house.
After 3pm. Carolyn buys cigarettes from Open Pantry at 1134 W 51st-St.
5:00 pm. Debbie get's off work from Motor World at 5300 S Pulaski. Evidence suggests she received a ride home from a friend or co-worker.
5:20 pm. SPECULATION. Debbie arrives home from Motor World by car.
5:35 pm. SPECULATION. After changing her work clothes, Debbie meets Carolyn in or near the 52nd-Street side of Sherman Park.
6:00 pm. Debbie and Carolyn were picked up by a guy in a green hot rod across from Sherman Park at about 52nd-Elizabeth.
6:30-6:45pm. Debbie presumably brings a load of laundry from her home at 5160 S Racine to the laundromat at 1207 W 51st-Street.
6:30-7:00pm. Debbie knocks on window of tavern at 1301 W 51st-St to tell her father that she's doing a load of laundry, just west of 51st-Racine. She told her father she would return home soon.
7:00pm. Debbie and Carolyn enter the Downbeat Tap at 5201 S Racine to buy soft drinks and candy, and cigarettes for Debbie's mother.
7:10pm ? Debbie and Carolyn presumably deliver the cigarettes to Debbie's mother at the Kozlarek apartment at 5160 S Racine.
7:55-8:10pm. Debbie, with Carolyn, presumably returns home with her load of laundry.
SPECULATION. Debbie may have put on her black jacket at this time.
8:00pm. Debbie and Carolyn are seen walking in the alley between 51st-Racine and 51st-Elizabeth.
8:30pm. Debbie and Carolyn are seen by Marie Miller from 1218 W 51st walking east near Racine.
8:30pm. Debbie and Carolyn are seen by Lottie Kozlarek (Debbie's mother) presumably from the window of 5160 S Racine.
9:00pm. Debbie and Carolyn are seen by a neighbor at the NE corner of Sherman Park, leaning against a car talking to a young guy.
9:30 pm Carolyn only, is seen by Lottie Kozlarek, presumably from the window of 5160 S Racine.
9:30 pm. Debbie and Carolyn are seen by Marie Miller from 1218 W 51st. walking west from Racine to Elizabeth.
9:30pm. Debbie and Carolyn are seen sitting in doorway of the Down Beat Tap at 5201 S Racine, by the man who lives next door at 5203 S Racine. Carolyn pets his dog as he passes by.
10:00 pm. Debbie Re-enters the Downbeat a second time to buy something.
Between 10 and 11pm. Debbie and Carol may have traveled by car to the Arie Crown Theater at McCormick Place at 2301 S Lake Shore Drive in an attempt to purchase tickets for the 10:30 pm Eagles-Yes concert. Security guards reported seeing one of them.
11:00 pm. Debbie and Carolyn are seen walking Southbound on 5100 S Elizabeth. they were half a block north of Carolyn's home at 5131 S Elizabeth.
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 23 1972
7:30-7:45am. Debbie and Carolyn's bodies are found on the bridlepath in Washington Park, across from the Jones National Guard Armory approximately
400 feet West of 52nd-Cottage Grove.
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Post by Jimmy C on Feb 20, 2015 7:09:58 GMT -6
According to newspaper accounts, the girls died between 12:45 and 1:45 AM. There is also claims from "other sources" that they had a meal before they died. Carolyn, likely had a hamburger and fries, and Debbie possibly a salad. Isolating the time of the last meal could possibly lead to its location. The girls were last seen walking in the 5100 Block of South Elizabeth by a neighbor at about 11:00 PM that Friday night. The first thing to determine is if there were any late night hamburger joints or restaurants open at that time in the immediate area. If people familiar with the area could be found, it should be an easy matter to isolate one or two. There is no indication that residue from these meals was discovered in their stomachs as the news accounts indicate that time of death was determined by "condition of the bodies." This can be interpreted to mean presence of livor and rigor mortis. Livor mortis is one of the first signs of death and typically begins within an hour or so of death. If the body is unmoved, the livor will set in the body. Rigor will generally set in within 6-8 hours after death with temperature and environment being a mitigating factor in extending or hastening this time frame. According to weather archives, the median temperature that night was about 54-56 degrees, which is not cold enough to slow down post mortem changes in the body. No information can be found at present indicating what was found at autopsy. Attachments:
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eric
members
Posts: 20
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Post by eric on Feb 25, 2015 18:15:17 GMT -6
My belief is that Debbie Kozlarek most likely took food home from Motor World restaurant where she worked, and shared it with Carolyn.
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Post by sherlock on Feb 28, 2015 16:56:15 GMT -6
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