Tinley Park Lane Bryant mass murderer still a mystery after 9 years

TINLEY PARK, Ill. (WLS) -- Nine years after the mass shooting at a Tinley Park Lane Bryant outlet, in which six women were shot and five killed, police are still investigating the case.

While the anniversary is obviously painful for the victims' families, they can generate new leads for investigators. The killer remains a mystery and now police have brought in fresh eyes to look at the case.

"We have really not a clear cut motive on it, and that's what makes the case difficult to solve," said Tinley Park Police Chief Steven Neubauer.

The crime was shocking in its scope and brutality. Police said it began as a robbery. The suspect posed as a delivery man before producing a .40 caliber Glock pistol and herding the women into a room.

All six women were shot execution-style; Connie Woolfolk, Jennifer Bishop, Rhoda McFardland, Sarah Szafranski and Carrie Chiuso all died. The sixth victim was shot in the neck and survived the bloodbath by pretending to be dead. Her description of the gunman was used to create sketches that were widely distributed.

"We think that someone knows who the offenders, and we just need that person to come forward and give us the information," Neubauer said.

Tinley Park police said a detective remains assigned to the case full time, and a second works on it part-time. More than 7,000 tips have been investigated through the years and now the department has enlisted the help of the Vidocq Spcoety, a group of profilers, criminologists and forensics experts who gather monthly in Philadelphia to examine cold cases.

"The two detectives and an assistant state's attorney went out there in the fall. They present the case, and then it's interactive. There's several people there, and they ask questions about the evidence and the information we presented," Neubauer explained.

Police have declined to comment on evidence and on the recommendations that were offered by the Vidocq Society, saying only that they were given "some things to consider and think about."