Paper: SouthtownStar (Chicago, IL) Title: Cops on manhunt after five women shot dead in Tinley Park Date: February 3, 2008 By Carly A Mullady Staff Writer He's still out there. Authorities were still searching Saturday night for the man who killed five women inside the Lane Bryant store in Brookside Marketplace in Tinley Park. The bodies of the women, including a Homewood-Flossmoor High School social worker and four other women from the south suburbs whom officials would not identify, were found in a back room of the store, which is in the shopping center at 191st Street and Harlem Avenue. Carrie Hudek Chiuso's husband was waiting for her to return home from a quick shopping trip Saturday when he saw the news report: There had been a multiple shooting at the store. Even worse, he recognized her car, still parked in front of the store. The Frankfort woman's family "is broken hearted,'' said Hudek Chiuso's sister-in-law, Jennifer Hudek. "That son of a bitch took more than just her,'' she said of the gunman. "He took a piece of each of us.'' The shooter - described by a witness as a stocky man in a dark knit cap and dark jacket - was seen leaving the scene, but police have yet to find him. Tinley Park Police Sgt. T.J. Grady said police were "pretty sure'' he acted alone. Why the shooter targeted the small retail store for robbery is anyone's guess. "It's not a place where you would find a lot of cash,'' a police source said, adding that the man did make off with some valuables. Why it turned deadly is also unknown, police said. Tinley Park Police Chief Michael O'Connell said Saturday night he thought the suspect was no longer in the area. "We are very comfortable the offender is out of the area," he said.

O'Connell said police arrived on the scene within minutes. They were joined by officers from Will County, Mokena, Oak Forest, Orland Park, Frankfort and other neighboring communities, in addition to a Chicago Police Department helicopter. Police stopped traffic going west of Harlem Avenue on 191st Street for a couple hours after the shooting. They set up posts at every entrance to the shopping center and searched shoppers' cars as they exited. Officers stopped a school bus on the eastbound Interstate 80 ramp and inspected it. O'Connell said the Lane Bryant store did not have its own video camera, but authorities are checking cameras within a few miles of the shopping center just south of Interstate 80 in hopes of catching a glimpse of the shooter. The sprawling center, built in 2005, includes some storefronts that have not opened yet, making the Lane Bryant store more isolated. "We're checking every possible means of getting out of this area," Grady said. The first call of shots fired came into police at 10:44 a.m., Grady said. Inside, they found mayhem. "There is no question it was a horrific scene,'' a police source said. Among the victims was 33-year-old Carrie Hudek Chiuso, of Frankfort, who's worked at H-F since 2003. The Rev. Michael Meany, pastor of St. Damian Catholic Church in Oak Forest, confirmed that another victim was a parishioner at the church. He said he had been in contact with her family, but declined to release her name or other information out of "respect for the family." O'Connell said the victims ranged in age from 22 to 37. Two others were from the suburbs, and the fifth was from South Bend, Ind., he said. At least one was an employee. Shoppers terrified Selena Kujawa and her son Nicholas, 5, of Mokena were shopping at the

nearby Super Target when the shooting occurred. "We were just checking out and they told us to get back into the store," Kujawa said. "They locked the store down for well over an hour. "I was freaking out." Kujawa said customers were told a shooting took place in the shopping center. "We heard five people were down," she said. "Customers were crying. "I was just thinking about keeping my son calm." Nicholas will turn 6 in a couple weeks, so she took him to look at toys and potential birthday gifts before customers were called back to the front of the store. They were all asked to cooperate with police. "The police had huge guns," Nicholas said. "It was scary." Officers searched the store, stopping to question one man. "They pulled a guy aside in the CD department, talked to him and it looked like they were going to cuff him," she said. "They asked him to take his hat off, and then they let him go." She and Nicholas, who has a cold, left once people were dismissed from the store but returned later. "I was very nervous coming back here," she said. "I saw cars driving by and thought the guy could be any of them. "We just don't have things like this going on here." Sara Miroballi, 13, was at dance class in a studio near the Lane Bryant when the shooting happened. "We first found out there was a shooting when we were in class," she said. "One of the moms came in and told us there was a shooting. Then we saw helicopters by the studio." One student's mother came into the studio and locked the doors, letting only dancers inside. "We called our parents so we could get home because they didn't catch the person," Miroballi said.

Though the experience was frightening for her, she said she plans to return for more classes. Greg Grace of Frankfort, was at the shopping center when he saw police near Lane Bryant "I pulled in and they were all running in the store with stretchers," Grace said. "Then all the stretchers came out empty." Contributing: David Schwab, Sun-Times News Group Carly A Mullady may be reached at cmullady@southtownstar.com or (708) 802-8812. SouthtownStar (Chicago, IL) February 4, 2008

Edition: SouthtownStar Section: News Page: A1 Police keep mum on survivor as they track killer By Kristen Schorsch, Isaac Wolf and Carly Mullady Staff writers As police searched for the man who gunned down five women at a Tinley Park Lane Bryant store, sources revealed authorities are relying on help from a sixth victim who lived through the massacre. The survivor is an employee of the store, according to a former co-worker of the slain office manager. Other sources told the SouthtownStar the wounded woman is providing information that may help police find the killer. Late Sunday, Tinley Park Police Sgt. T.J. Grady said a witness had come forward with new information about the suspect. Grady said the witness saw a person matching the suspect's description drive off from the scene in a red car at a high rate of speed. Grady said investigators would review area surveillance tapes in hopes of finding footage of the car. Randi Rexford, of Orland Park, worked with murdered store manager Rhoda McFarland at the Lane Bryant from November 2006 until April 2007. Rexford said the sixth victim is a Lane Bryant employee who was

with McFarland at the time of Saturday's shooting. "There were always two women on duty," she said. "I don't even know how to describe it. It hit hard. It makes me sick to think someone could do this." Sherry Sissac, spokeswoman at St. James Hospital in Olympia Fields, confirmed the hospital treated a woman who had been shot at Lane Bryant. She would not provide any other information. Tinley Park Police Chief Michael O'Connell refused to discuss evidence or information regarding any witnesses. He also reacted to a comment attributed to him Saturday when some news outlets quoted him as saying there were no survivors. "To the best of my knowledge, I did not make that comment, but I am not going to address that issue right now," he said Sunday, adding that police were "addressing as many witness information, witness statements as possible." O'Connell wouldn't say if there were more than five victims. "This is an extremely sensitive investigation, and we need to keep as much information confidential as possible," he said. Police responded to 911 calls at 10:44 a.m. Saturday to find the bodies of five women who had been herded into the back of the store and shot. They searched nearby stores, cars and neighborhoods by foot and helicopter, but the gunman had escaped. The dead include store manager McFarland, 42, of Joliet; Connie R. Woolfolk, 37, a real estate broker from Flossmoor; Carrie Hudek Chiuso, 33, a social worker from Frankfort; Sarah Szafranski, 22, a paralegal and graduate of Oak Forest High School; and Jennifer L. Bishop, 34, a nurse from South Bend, Ind., who accompanied her husband to a convention in Tinley Park. As identities of the five slain women were released to the public Sunday, friends and family grieved. Flags in Tinley Park were lowered to half-staff. Grief-stricken people brought flowers and crosses to the Brookside Marketplace shopping center. The front entry to the Lane Bryant store was covered with plywood. As officers kept watch over the scene, a police dog scoured the parking lot. At least one of the women, Woolfolk, apparently tried to fight her attacker. Relatives who claimed her body from the morgue said she had blood under her nails and several scratches marked her body. "She was beat up pretty bad. He must have pistol-whipped and beat them up pretty bad," her brother Aaron Woolfolk said. "She was fighting to stay with her kids," added another brother, Jimmy, 30. Sunday evening, police in South Haven, Mich., were searching that area for the gunman after receiving a reported sighting, authorities there said, but later they announced that the person officers found and questioned was not the sought-after killer.

$50,000 reward offered Investigators are looking into the lives of the victims for possible relationships they may have had with the murderer, according to Country Club Hills mayor Dwight Welch. "They're following relationships," he said. Officers also interviewed employees at stores near Lane Bryant Sunday. The store, which opened in August 2006, remained closed Sunday, as were all the chain's stores, said a spokeswoman for Charming Shoppes Inc., the parent company of Lane Bryant. Lane Bryant has offered a $50,000 reward for information in the case. Cook County Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward. To this point, Tinley Park police have been calling this a robbery gone bad. On Saturday, police offered only a vague description of a stocky black man, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing 230 to 260 pounds, dressed in dark clothing. Why the shooter chose the Lane Bryant store for the robbery is unknown. "It's not a place where you would find a lot of cash,'' a police source said, adding that the man did make off with about $200. The bodies of the women were found in a back room of the store in the shopping center at 191st Street and Harlem Avenue. Will County Sheriff's spokesman Pat Berry said the investigation is "progressing very nicely," adding that police have unearthed more details about the shooter. Berry said it's possible something set the shooter off and made the robbery turn deadly. "He either knew someone or there was an event, (like) someone called 911. ... This is what snaps somebody," Berry said. "If he's high on something -cracked out - all the emotions are up and he snaps on something. These are all things that are factored in." 'You'll never be forgotten' While Rexford said she never worked with the injured woman, she met her while visiting the store in recent months to see McFarland and other former co-workers. Rexford said she and another woman plan to visit the victim in the hospital soon. Rexford said when she worked at the store the employees always made sure each other was safe. "We walked out together. We waited until everybody got in their cars," she said. Saturday's incident is understandably frightening. "It scares all of us," Rexford said. She said the incident also has brought together a group of former employees who worked with McFarland. "Please put something in the paper for us: We miss you and we love you Rhoda. You'll never be forgotten by us," she said. Grief and unease

On Sunday, five white crosses stapled with red roses were propped up in a mound of snow near Lane Bryant. A small statue of an angel with golden wings was perched nearby in front of a bouquet of pink roses. Nearly a dozen more bouquets of flowers laid on the ground next to the store along with a framed sign that read "Rest in Peace." Tim and Janelle Witry, Tinley Park residents concerned about the shootings, attended Sunday's press conference hoping for more information on the suspect. They said they did not receive the automated phone warning officials said was activated Saturday. "We're not satisfied at all," Janelle Witry said. "They didn't give us much information on the man." Tim Witry said they want any descriptions that could allow them to help in the search. The couple said they understand police must sometimes withhold details but they had hoped officials would share anything that could set residents' minds at ease. "We want to know how would people protect themselves from this happening again," Tim said. "What can you do if they have a gun and you don't?" Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki called the killings a "tragedy" and said flags would fly at half-staff for five days to honor the victims. "This tragedy should not have happened in any town," Zabrocki said. "Sadly, this is a commentary on our society, that no community is immune to what can happen." Contributing: John O'Brien, Wynne Everett, Sun-Times News Group Copyright, 2008, SouthtownStar (Chicago, IL). All rights reserved. REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED. SouthtownStar (Chicago, IL) February 10, 2008

Edition: SouthtownStar Section: News Page: a1 'She had a way of showing love, pure love' Article Text: By Carly A. Mullady Staff Writer "Don't cry for me. Don't shed a tear. The time shared with you will always be. When I'm gone, still carry on," Antoinette Booker sang to more than 1,000 people gathered to celebrate the life of Connie R. Woolfolk Saturday at Leak and Sons Funeral Chapels in Country Club

Hills. Woolfolk, 37, an unincorporated Cook County resident with a Flossmoor address, was killed Feb. 2 along with four other women at a Lane Bryant clothing store in what Tinley Park police are calling an armed robbery gone bad. Those who knew her followed Woolfolk's wishes Saturday, celebrating her life with stories of how she touched nearly everyone she met. "That's my sister," Dorothy Rice said. "All I can tell you is, from when she was a baby and a little girl, she was always special. "She had a way of showing love, pure love." That love was reflected back to her as mourners paid their respects and filled every room and hallway at the funeral home. "Connie was the golden child," her cousin Rosalind Harper said. "She never wavered. She was always there." Calling her cousin an entrepreneur and commending her on starting Mortgages, Etc. with her mother, Portia, in Hazel Crest last year, Harper praised Woolfolk for all she brought to her family. Admiration of Woolfolk's love for family was perhaps the most common sentiment Saturday. Her mother-in-law, Mildred Rodriguez, brothers, sisters and even co-workers told stories of Connie's passion for her sons, Victor Rodriguez, a 16-year-old Homewood-Flossmoor High School student; and Maeric, 10, who suffers from spina bifida. "We've come to celebrate a life that was so full," Mildred Rodriguez said. "The Lord blessed me with a good daughter-in-law in that I didn't have to worry about my grandchildren." Friends said Connie's boys were her pride and joy. "This life is not over," Brenda Mitchell said. "We can still realize that life in these children." University Park Mayor Al McCowan praised the impact Connie made growing up in that community, from her performance at Crete-Monee High School to her service as a camp counselor for children. Colleagues from the village of Park Forest, where Connie worked from 1999 to 2006, called her dynamic, daring, devoted, delightful and divine. Hazel Crest Mayor Robert Donaldson announced a $1,000 donation from his family to start an education fund for Victor and Maeric. In just more than a year as a businesswoman in Hazel Crest, she caught Donaldson's attention as a "very nice young lady." The village adopted a resolution, expressing sympathy to Connie's loved ones and reflecting on the respect and admiration she earned as a businesswoman. She was born Aug. 4, 1970, in Chicago to Portia and Melvin Woolfolk, attended Elizabeth Seton and Crete-Monee High schools, University of Illinois at Chicago and DeVry Institute. "I can't hate this young man because if someone had told him of the

love of Jesus, she might be here today," Rice said, calling to everyone to pass on messages of love and to stop violence. Carly A. Mullady may be reached at cmullady@southtownstar.com or (708) 802-8812. Copyright, 2008, SouthtownStar (Chicago, IL). All rights reserved. REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED. Paper: SouthtownStar (Chicago, IL) Title: avoid being a target Date: March 16, 2008 By Carly A Mullady Staff writer It can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. It happened to five women who were shopping on a Saturday morning in February at Tinley Park's Lane Bryant store. They wound up being crime victims as they were shot to death in what investigators said was an armed robbery gone wrong. Since then, Southland residents have been extra cautious in their everyday routines. And their increased fears are what drew many residents to safety seminars last week. With a daughter who works for a major retailer, Homewood resident Elaine Egdorf wanted as many safety tips as possible to pass along. "I asked a friend to come," Egdorf said. "We're both single. When you're living alone, you really want to know what you can do. I don't want to just stay home." Develop a plan The South Suburban Association of Chiefs of Police, which represents 40 area communities, together with Prairie State College and Moraine Valley Community College, brought J.J. Bittenbinder, a former Chicago homicide detective and crime expert, to the schools last week. "I'm here to talk about how victims are selected, how not to be selected and what to do if you are selected," Bittenbinder told the crowd at PSC in Chicago Heights. Comparing himself to a lifeguard, Bittenbinder said he wants to help the public swim safely. He can't keep the sharks out of the water,

but he can help keep swimmers from locking themselves in their homes. He said everyone can have a plan. "He has a plan when he steps into the arena. He knows what to do, what to say, what to take and where to run. You have to be prepared." Bittenbinder gave three steps for a basic safety plan: deny privacy, attract attention and take action. The fewer people around, the greater the likelihood of crime. "If you're being followed, get away. If you're in your car being followed, drive to a police station or a fire station or a McDonald's, someplace with lights. Don't drive in an alley to your house with some guy following you." The less time with a criminal, the better the chances of personal safety. "Get away," he said. "Attract a lot of attention." Do not go Bittenbinder said the worst place to be is a secondary crime scene. "If they want your stuff, they can take it right there," he said. "You can't go to a private place. You can't let anybody take you anywhere. If a guy pulls a girl into a car, it isn't to rob her. It's to take her to a place with more privacy." In secluded places, the risk of rape and death increases dramatically. "Everyone asks, 'what if he has a gun?' " Bittenbinder said. "Break and run." He said the odds the criminal will shoot the gun, hit a moving target and hit the moving target in a place that will kill are rather slim. Statistics from the Department of Justice say that a person running from an armed person only will be mortally wounded 5 percent of the time. "If you get in a car, you will not be back," he said. "The secondary crime scene is the most deadly piece of ground in the world."

Being taken even to another room can be dangerous. "Think about that dress store with those six women. "If all of those women had run in all different directions, we'd be talking to a few of them now," he said. Police have said the killer in Tinley Park's Lane Bryant took the women to the back room, where they were bound and shot, with only one woman surviving. "You cannot do that," he said. "You have got to get out of there." Attracting attention Predators avoid difficult targets, he said. Crimes are not random. The weak and vulnerable are targeted. He said it's best to be a hassle, put up a fight and cause a scene. Bittenbinder said people are less inclined to help in situations that do not involve them. Instead of yelling for help, he advised yelling "fire," because fires concern entire neighborhoods. "It's OK if a fire truck gets there first," he said. "There are five guys on that fire truck, and one of them is carrying an ax." Looking out for others also is key, he said. "There are not enough police officers so we can each have one," Bittenbinder said. "You have got to help one another." People need to act when they sense danger, whether it's their personal safety or that of those around them. When a criminal has selected a person as a target, that person needs to know how to get out of the situation. Unarmed people should kick and scream and maintain as much physical distance as possible. A good 6 to 8 feet can be obtained with a defense spray. Bittenbinder said pepper spray is measured on a heat scale. The same scale rates Tabasco sauce at 104, and pepper sprays start at 250,000.

"Not only does this hurt a lot, it also contains a dye that marks his face. When the police find a guy with the big spot on his face, that's probable cause," he said. Harry Dohman and his wife, Brenda, have been to these seminars before. Harry said he bought pepper spray for his wife, daughters and himself. "I think he covered our concerns about personal protection, how not to become a victim and how to better respond to a situation if something were to happen," Brenda said. With 90 minutes of the detective's advice, the audience filed out reflecting newfound confidence. As Egdorf pulled her purse diagonally over her body and put her coat on over it, she said his advice made her feel more powerful. ”This is really something," she said. "It gets you fired up to want to protect yourselves." Carly A Mullady can be reached at cmullady@southtownstar.com or (708) 802-8812.