Sleepy Hollow family offers $30K reward after college student's 2009 death ruled homicide

SLEEPY HOLLOW, Ill. (WLS) -- The family of a Sleepy Hollow teenager whose death was ruled a homicide more than 10 years after she died is offering a reward.

Life has stood still for Martha Schneider since her 19-year-old daughter, Anna Schneider, died 16 years ago.

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Anna's room has remained untouched since the early morning hours of July 4, 2009. She was home for the summer following her freshman year of college.

"She went to University of Hawaii. She had two majors, music and marine biology, because she loved the water, so she was excellent swimmer," Martha said.

Because she was an excellent swimmer, it never made sense to Martha that Anna's original cause of death was undermined drowning in the family's backyard pool in northwest suburban Sleepy Hollow. Martha says Anna was hanging out with a friend. She says she woke up shortly before 5 a.m. to a loud banging.

"First, it was slamming a door, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, upstairs, upstairs, banging walls. So, I jumped out of bed. So did my husband," Martha said.

Martha says Anna's friend told them their daughter was in the pool and would not wake up.

"I saw Anna. She was halfway in, halfway down, with her arms, like up in her head, like I could see her face. It was horrible," Martha said.

Martha says blood droplets were found in Anna's bedroom, but her death was not originally investigated as a homicide until years later, when a new Kane County coroner exhumed the body.

"After the blood results came back, he changed the death certificate to homicide because of chloroform," Martha said.

That was three years ago, and Martha says there were no leads in the case. She says investigators told the family not to go public because it would compromise the investigation. But she says they are desperate and now do not have a choice.

The Schneiders are offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Anna's killer. Her mother says she just wants justice for her musically talented and energetic daughter.

"She would dance through this area, you know, come out from her bedroom and be dancing and singing," Martha said.

Since the Schneider family has offered the reward, the Sleepy Hollow police chief says his department has received many leads. He forwards all of them to the Kane County State's Attorney's Office and the Kane County Major Crimes Task force.