It was as ruthless as a cold case.
On February 2, 2008, a man posing as a delivery driver entered the Lane Bryant clothing store in the Chicago suburb of Tinley Park with a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun. Police said he found six women inside the room, forced them into a back room, duct-taped their hands behind their backs, and fondled one of them.
In the end, he shot them all.
Investigators say the gunman may have believed he had killed everyone, but one person survived. She was a part-time employee and police were hoping a description of the suspect would lead to an arrest. Despite thousands of leads over the past 16 years, the culprit remains at large.
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Victims, from left: Jennifer Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Indiana; Carrie Kiuso, 33, of Frankfort. Rhoda McFarland, 42, of Joliet. Sarah Zafranski, 22, of Oak Forest. Connie Woolfolk, 37, lives in Flossmoor. Background: Tinley Park Police Commander Pat McCain calls an office dedicated to investigations. (Insert: FOX 32 Chicago, Background: Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The suspect is believed to be just over six feet tall, with a “husky” build and broad shoulders. He is described as a black male, between 25 and 35 years old at the time of the attack, with medium-dark skin and corn-like hair. He had a braid hanging down his right cheek, decorated with green beads. He wore black jeans with a rhinestone “G” embroidered on the back pocket, a dark gray cap and a dark jacket.
Grainy surveillance video taken from across the street showed a dark SUV and a dark sedan in the parking lot before and after the murder, The Associated Press reported at the time. However, it is unclear whether either vehicle was used by the attackers.
Authorities also obtained audio of the suspect recorded in a garbled 911 call, and the Tinley Park Police Department is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
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Listen: Police release 911 audio containing voice of man who killed five people at women's clothing store
“You're lucky,” a man with a gun can be heard saying. “I'm going to lose it.”
The woman's voice begging the police to “hurry up” was that of store manager Rhoda McFarland, 42.
The identity of the sole survivor has not been released. Police identified the murder victim as McFarland of Joliet. Jennifer Bishop, 34, of South Bend, Indiana. Sarah Zafranski, 22, of Oak Forest. Connie Woolfolk, 37, resident of Flossmoor. and Carrie Chiuso, 33, of Frankfort.
“Something is off in that timeline, and as an investigator you have to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It's like a ladder without rungs. We have to fill in those places. No.”
Police released a statement on her behalf days after the shooting.
“An unspeakable tragedy occurred when five of the bravest women I have ever met were senselessly murdered and separated from their families,” she said. “Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to their families and friends.
“Please know that during the unfathomable events of that day, their thoughts were focused on getting home with you. My heart aches that they were not able to do so. We are cooperating with authorities to the best of our ability on behalf of all victims.”
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Tinley Park Police Commander Pat McCain, Jan. 25, 2013, in the “war room,'' the office that houses dedicated detectives pursuing all the evidence and leads collected in the Lane Bryant case. (Zbigniew Buzdak/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Tinley Park Police did not respond to requests for an interview from Fox News Digital.
Criminal profiler John Kelly, who is working on the case through his organization STALK Inc., said cold cases can be solved with the help of new technology and information from the public. That's what it means. Potential Profile.
“I believe he lives outside of the area, in a larger city,” Kelly told FOX News Digital. “He had some experience delivering to businesses, and the ploy was to go in through the back door, show the manager the documents, and the delivery man go inside and look for the camera.
“I think he was impulsive and desperate for money,” Kelly said. “Probably some kind of addiction. It could be grouped.”
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Tinley Park Police Department Sergeant TJ Grady speaks at a press conference about the February 4, 2008 murder at the Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park, Illinois. A gunman killed five women inside the store. (Kuni Takahashi/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Despite having a plan, he was not an experienced stick-up artist, the profiler said.
“He was a novice at robbing stores. He was very lacking in sophistication,” he told Fox News Digital. “Why would someone try to rob a store in broad daylight at 10:30 a.m. without wearing a mask?”
Early on, the cash from the day before the sale had already been deposited, and there would have been few new shoppers.
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“The only cash is to make some change and maybe pay the refund for the return,” Kelly said. “Why would you rob a place where there could be a lot of people there when you're having a sale? Why did you kill five people for a little money and jewelry? But did he intend to kill six people?
The sixth surviving victim has provided police with a suspect statement, which is now being developed into a 3D composite.
This undated image provided by the Tinley Park Police Department shows the suspect in the Feb. 2, 2008 shooting at the Lane Bryant clothing store in Tinley Park, Illinois, that killed five women. It's in the picture. (Tinley Park Police Department, via Associated Press)
Kelly said the Lane Bryant store attack was not the suspect's first murder, and it may not be his last.
“He's going to come in without a mask and he's going to kill people who come in,” he said. ”[It’s] disposition of witnesses. He believed he had killed everyone he believed could identify him. Perhaps his appearance changed the next day. ”
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Last year, local police announced that they had added two new detectives to the cold case. FOX 32 Chicago.
Joseph Giacalone, a former NYPD sergeant and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said this is the first step in solving an unsolved mystery.
Mourners gather near the Lane Bryant store at Brookside Market shopping mall on February 4, 2008 in Tinley Park, Illinois. A gunman killed five women inside the store. (Kuni Takahashi/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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“Everything is on the table at the moment,” he said. “They have to go back to their lives. Just because it looks like a robbery doesn't mean it was a robbery. It could have been staged, it could have been something else. It's also possible that it was love.'' Triangles need to be open-minded. ”
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the Tinley Park Police Department at 708-444-5394 or email lanebryant.tipline@tinleypark.org.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
