IL IL - Rosemary Peterson, 23, Rockford, 5 December 1979

[0101ABA]

The headline says it all "Police Hunt Slasher in Killing." Twenty-three-year old Rosemary Peterson was tied to her bed, cut and stabbed repeatedly, and left to die in the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Willard Colwell, Jr. It was Dec. 5, 1979. Neighbors heard noises in their Edelweiss Road duplex.

Deputy Chief Dominic Iasparro with the Rockford Police Department says, "Actually, the neighbors had called out to them as they heard an argument, said what's going on in there? A male voice said Rose and I are just having an argument. The neighbors called the police. (...)

Police even believe they might have spoken to the killer while they surveyed the crime scene.

Iasparro says, "Apparently, to check to see what was going on there. He gave a false name. We were never able to identify who the caller was. We believe the caller very well could have been the killer and talked to the officers on the scene at that time."

http://www.wifr.com/home/headlines/875526.html

 

[dotr]

http://967theeagle.net/can-you-help-solve-these-8-rockford-cold-cases/

Rosemary Peterson – Waiting 36 Years for Justice

Twenty-three-year old Rosemary Peterson was tied to her bed, cut and stabbed repeatedly, and left to die in the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Willard Colwell, Jr. It was Dec. 5, 1979. Neighbors heard noises in their Edelweiss Road duplex.

Deputy Chief Dominic Iasparro with the Rockford Police Department says, “Actually, the neighbors had called out to them as they heard an argument, said what’s going on in there? A male voice said Rose and I are just having an argument. The neighbors called the police. By the time the police got there the suspect had fled and they found Rosemary Peterson who was severely injured.”
Police even believe they might have spoken to the killer while they surveyed the crime scene.
​

 

[Hardtack]

Thank you so much for following up with this. It's been too long that this solvable case has been unsolved.

 

[ClementineK]

I don't see any sketch or description online of the man who police talked to at the crime scene? I wonder why they didn't do that.

 

[Hardtack]

I know they think they talked a man who might be a suspect that night. I wasn't aware of any subject that was actually seen by anyone. Nice to have some support from her hometown Clementine.

 

[ClementineK]

Ahh, okay. I had to re read that.. It doesn't sound like police had much to go on. It's just so sad that a killer can get so lucky as to just slip away. I wish they'd been able to identify him.

 

[dotr]

Nov 11 2022

Cold case: The gruesome Rockford murder of Rosemary Peterson

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The 3000 block of Edelweiss Road was quiet and uneventful during the daylight hours of Dec. 4, 1979. That all changed at 11:30 p.m., when two young girls who lived in a…

www.mystateline.com

''Entering the house, the girls were met with one of the bloodiest crime scenes ever investigated in Rockford, second perhaps only to the one left by Simon Peter Nelson, who in 1978 killed his six children with a knife and mallet inside their home.

Rosemary Peterson was found tied to a bedpost. She’d been stabbed multiple times and suffered a massive blow to the head. One of her hands was nearly cut off, presumably by one of the several kitchen knives or the machete found at the scene. She died the next day.''

“The attack was so brutal that it would point to someone who knew her or had watched or stalked her enough to know when her fiancé worked,” said author Kathi Kresol, who has written about the case over the years.''

 

[Uncoveredbook]

http://www.wifr.com/home/headlines/875526.html

With them finding knifes, bloody gloves in a near by neighboring yard, and she was tied up You would think with blood swabs and the advancement in technology they would resubmit it to all be tested again ?

 

[lolz]

MURDER - Rosemary Peterson | Solve the Case
This was updated recently
Summary:
On the night of December 4, 1979, Rosemary Peterson was the victim of a gruesome attack at her home at 3013 Edelweiss Rd in Rockford, Illinois. She was found tied to a bedpost with a necktie and had been stabbed multiple times. She also suffered a major blow to the head. One of her hands was nearly cut off. Several kitchen knives and a machete were found at the scene. Rosemary passed away the next day at the age of 23.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Offense:
Two girls living in the duplex on the 300 block of Edelweiss overheard people fighting inside the adjoining apartment. Growing concerned, they decided to knock on the door and called out. A man shouted back "Me and Rose just had a fight" followed by a scream for help from Rosemary. Upon entering the house, they found Rosemary tied to a bedpost with a necktie. She was stabbed several times, and one of her hands was nearly cut off. Several kitchen knives and a machete were found at the crime scene. Police were called and Rose was rushed to the hospital where she passed away the next day.
Rose's fiancee who was living with her at the time was at work at a local factory during the attack and has never been named a suspect. There was no sign of forced entry.
A pair of bloody gloves were found in the yard of another duplex nearby. The case remains unsolved.
Case Last Updated:
Jul 10, 2024

 

[lolz]

She was stabbed several times, and one of her hands was nearly cut off.

It sounds like she was tourtured by her perpetrator before she died. Why would you even try to cut off someones hand if they are tied up? Sick!!

 

[lolz]

“The attack was so brutal that it would point to someone who knew her or had watched or stalked her enough to know when her fiancé worked,” said author Kathi Kresol, who has written about the case over the years.''

Colwell was at work at a local factory during the attack and has never been named a suspect. That has led to the theory that someone else was allowed into the apartment. There was no sign of forced entry, and Peterson’s friends all told police she’d never open the door for a stranger, especially at 11:30 p.m.

A potential link to Peterson’s job at the Chrysler plant also emerged. It was rumored early in the investigation that she may have happened upon something unsavory at the plant and was silenced for what she knew.

“The police looked into it but never found proof of any of that,” Kresol said.

 

[asmi106082]

MOO but this sounds like a man in her life who she had rejected romantically. He was furious with her for being engaged to someone else, so he stalked her and pounced at the right opportunity.
All just my musings.

 

[lolz]

MOO but this sounds like a man in her life who she had rejected romantically. He was furious with her for being engaged to someone else, so he stalked her and pounced at the right opportunity.
All just my musings.

100% it was someone she knew, I think this case could be solved if it was reopened again and police talked to all people involved in her life at the time. Also her name was Rosemary, the voice that called out to the neighbour called her 'Rose", aka a nickname.
MOO