IL IL - Carol Rofstad, 21, ISU student, Normal, 22 Dec 1975

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Gunther Toody said:
According to this Tribune Article... http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-09-07/news/0109070041_1_fingerprints-police-new-clue Carol stopped briefly at The Cellar Bar and walked back to the sorority house with a friend.

The two current listings for "The Cellar" within walking distance of her sorority house are each a few blocks North and East.
Both are located North of the Amtrak tracks, where the killer likely obtained the piece of railroad tie, if that was the murder weapon.

Here is a map image of a bar called The Cellar in Normal..Is it the same bar she attended in 1975?
I don't know but the location and proximity to the railroad tracks fit the scenario.

View attachment 66611
Click to expand...

I can see her perhaps taking that "longer" 11 minute route since Beaufort Street is a very busy thoroughfare.
 
I thought about Carol when I crossed Beaufort St. today-40 years past here in less than four months-too long. Amazing to think she would be 61 now if she hadn't been murdered.
 
Gunther Toody said:
According to this Tribune Article... http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2001-09-07/news/0109070041_1_fingerprints-police-new-clue Carol stopped briefly at The Cellar Bar and walked back to the sorority house with a friend.

The two current listings for "The Cellar" within walking distance of her sorority house are each a few blocks North and East.
Both are located North of the Amtrak tracks, where the killer likely obtained the piece of railroad tie, if that was the murder weapon.

Here is a map image of a bar called The Cellar in Normal..Is it the same bar she attended in 1975?
I don't know but the location and proximity to the railroad tracks fit the scenario.

View attachment 66611
Click to expand...

The establishment at 102 S. Linden is now Brewe-Ha's Bar and Grill. I will hopefully check it out sometime before the end of the year.
 
STANDREID said:
The establishment at 102 S. Linden is now Brewe-Ha's Bar and Grill. I will hopefully check it out sometime before the end of the year.
Click to expand...

I went in there today and it was very busy. It is an older building that looked like it might have been a store at one time. I expected it to be at least 75% college age people but I'm not sure it was even 25%. When I left, I drove down to Fell and tried to channel Carol (not really seriously) but without success. Conditions permitting, I'll go back next month closer to the 40th anniversary date. I expect that at least one of these creeps is still alive so still some hope for justice even though we don't have the death penalty any more.
 
STANDREID said:
There was a serial killer named Jesse Donald Sumner who was preying on ISU coeds (among others) in the early 70s but he'd been captured before Rofstad's slaying. He died incarcerated in 2005.
Click to expand...

We've had three other serial killers around here who would have been about the right age and were free at the time. Larry Bright; born 1957-Arlie Ray Davis; born 1955-Joseph Miller; born 1945.

Bright:
Pro-College age at the time
Con-Never known to work with a partner/Only known to kill black prostitutes and drug addicts

Davis:
Pro-Killed some women like Carol/Did work with a partner on at least one murder
Con-Not known to have killed anyone before 1990

Miller:
Pro-Looked something like the suspect sketch/Did kill in the 1970s
Con-Never known to work with a partner/Known mostly for killing prostitutes although did murder one elderly lady

Another local serial killer, David Roland Waters (born 1947), was not released from prison until 1976 after serving time for his first killing then went on to murder more later.
 
I just realized that we had a lot of serial killers around here in the 70s. lol

And, I kind of knew two of them. Bright; I used to see running around town when he was a little kid and I had a couple of minor tussles with Davis as well as several other occasions when we exchanged threats.
 
I went back to the 102 S. Linden bar again today to get more of the seasonal feel. Too bad that you can't drive the likely route Carol walked home because part of the distance is a one-way street going the wrong way.
 
How exactly did Carol get away from the first attracker that attacked her in her room? What kind of injuries did she have? Did she seem to know the person? How many exes did she have? Did she live a high risk lifestyle? Did she run with a bad crowd. Also, the sketch of the two alleged perpetrators-they look older than college students. Could they have been vagrants from the train?
 
Any idea on how old the "man with the club" would have been at the time of the sketch?
 
Police found an 18-inch piece of railroad tie, believed to be the murder weapon, near the crime scene. A witness driving by saw two men outside the sorority house with Rofstad, but thought they were "college kids goofing around," Sadler said.




Did the two guys that were seen with her ever come forward?
 
SAMS said:
Police found an 18-inch piece of railroad tie, believed to be the murder weapon, near the crime scene. A witness driving by saw two men outside the sorority house with Rofstad, but thought they were "college kids goofing around," Sadler said.




Did the two guys that were seen with her ever come forward?
Click to expand...
Sams
You mention William Reinbold on the Lori thread


Reinbold had a “thing” for petite brunettes. Did Lori fit this description? He also killed his victims with blows to the head with blunt objects and no evidence of rape. Senseless. His victims were also found in close proximity to where he had attacked them. Close in age to Lori as well. Very good prospect IMO. Fits his MO.


That was your post
Could he be a POI in this too ?
 
Angleterre said:
Sams
You mention William Reinbold on the Lori thread


Reinbold had a “thing” for petite brunettes. Did Lori fit this description? He also killed his victims with blows to the head with blunt objects and no evidence of rape. Senseless. His victims were also found in close proximity to where he had attacked them. Close in age to Lori as well. Very good prospect IMO. Fits his MO.


That was your post
Could he be a POI in this too ?
Click to expand...

IMO Yes, Id put money on Reinbold here too. Carol was petite, although blonde in pic, just how blonde was she and how visible in the dark? Was it too blonde to deter him? Probably not. Blunt force trauma, found in close proximity to where she was attacked, no signs of sexual assault. Carols murder was a year before Lori’s, just a few hours away.
His MO is all over this case IMO.
EBM
 
Carol was attacked the year before when a man allegedly climbed up the fire escape in her sorority room. This could have been Reinbold- he was spooked out of this assault, perhaps he came back a year later? What did this attacker look like? Did carol give a description? MOO EBM
 
Hi everyone,

I am local and I was in high school when this happened. This was big when it happened, murder was rare in our community. We had two colleges then, Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University. If I remember correctly, Carol was found on the right side of the building as you faced it from the street. The Cellar was a downstairs pub in Uptown Normal. The business and bar area of the town of Normal has always been called Uptown instead of Downtown. I believed then and I believe now that this was a crime that got out of hand. I believe that Carol knew the perpetrator(s) casually, probably from contact at The Cellar. I believe she either was met outside before she entered the sorority or led the killer(s) outside to not disturb the other girls inside. I believe she turned down romantic or sexual advances and was killed out of anger. I know that much was made of the two men reportedly seen by the eyewitness. I think eyewitness accounts can be useful but I would never hang my hat on them for reliability. It could be correct, it may not be. I believe the killer(s) are local and I believe they are still in the area. I don't believe the murder was planned, I believe she rejected them and they lashed out in anger. I believe they bolted from the area after the murder or they were spooked by a passing vehicle. If I remember correctly, the houses along that block were shaded by mature trees so the murder scene was somewhat secluded. I don't believe it was a student of ISU or IWU since it was Christmas break.

That all said, I have always been bothered by Carol's murder and I would be more than happy to start a Facebook page about her case. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. I would have no problem processing and footing the costs of FOIA requests. I am sure it is still an open but cold case so I'm not sure how much information they would release. I'm willing to put in the work. Thoughts?

Edited: Spelling
 
Last edited:
JP76ER said:
Hi everyone,

I am local and I was in high school when this happened. This was big when it happened, murder was rare in our community. We had two colleges then, Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University. If I remember correctly, Carol was found on the right side of the building as you faced it from the street. The Cellar was a downstairs pub in Uptown Normal. The business and bar area of the town of Normal has always been called Uptown instead of Downtown. I believed then and I believe now that this was a crime that got out of hand. I believe that Carol knew the perpetrator(s) casually, probably from contact at The Cellar. I believe she either was met outside before she entered the sorority or led the killer(s) outside to not disturb the other girls inside. I believe she turned down romantic or sexual advances and was killed out of anger. I know that much was made of the two men reportedly seen by the eyewitness. I think eyewitness accounts can be useful but I would never hang my hat on them for reliability. It could be correct, it may not be. I believe the killer(s) are local and I believe they are still in the area. I don't believe the murder was planned, I believe she rejected them and they lashed out in anger. I believe they bolted from the area after the murder or they were spooked by a passing vehicle. If I remember correctly, the houses along that block were shaded by mature trees so the murder scene was somewhat secluded. I don't believe it was a student of ISU or IWU since it was Christmas break.

That all said, I have always been bothered by Carol's murder and I would be more than happy to start a Facebook page about her case. Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated. I would have no problem processing and footing the costs of FOIA requests. I am sure it is still an open but cold case so I'm not sure how much information they would release. I'm willing to put in the work. Thoughts?

Edited: Spelling
Click to expand...
My theory is stated above, IMO Reinbold is responsible. I’d be happy to assist if I can be of help. Lori and Carol deserve justice. MOO
 
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