Hi there,
I've researched this case extensively and here's what I found. John Whiteside was the reporter who wrote about Zelko in the Herald News from 1978 up until his death, finding new leads/witnesses and instigating new searches for her final resting place in Joliet. On the night Zelko disappeared 3 neighbours who lived in her apartment block reported hearing screams and a woman saying "oh, oh, no" which they ignored as they thought it was just kids messing about. A young boy who lived nearby also heard a woman scream, a car drive off and then two cars park on Benton Street with the headlights facing each other, followed by screams from what he identified as the same woman's voice and two gun shots, after which he heard a front loader operating, this all happened on a construction site and the boy's story was backed up by a construction worker who came forward years later in response to Whiteside's newspaper articles about Zelko, claiming that he worked on the same construction site and that they day after Zelko disappeared he attended work and a section of the construction site which had been empty the night before when he left work had been filled in, but he didn’t ask about it as he wanted to get his financial bonus for finishing the job. (The ditch that was filled in was 8 – 12 feet down, and would not show up a body with ground penetrating radar as it is too deep!). (Although both of these witnesses never went to the police but rather to the reporter John Whiteside, but I don’t think they were looking for fame, as they both declined to be identified in the articles).
Another witness Whiteside found was a woman who lived nearby to Zelko’s house and looked out the window after 12pm the night Zelko disappeared as she was waiting for her husband and saw four men with a black car removing a bundle from the back of the car, she then saw an arm fall out and realised it was a body, she then said that they buried the body in the storm sewer on Stryker Avenue.
As well as this I also found out that the FBI formally declined to investigate Zelko’s disappearance, and that they also told Joliet investigators that they did not have any information on the case at all. Although when the reporter John Whiteside applied for the “nonexistent” files through freedom of information acts, he received many files on Zelko’s disappearance, even citing J Edgar Hoover’s personal interest in the case. (SO WHY DID THE FBI LIE?)
Another twist in the case was in 1958 when Bobby Kennedy then the Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Rackets Committee travelled to Joliet in the company of his chief investigator Jim Mcshane and convict and Mafia employee James Rini (also known as the “Green Hornet”
, who was convicted of breaking and damaging tavern/bar coin machines not owned by the Mafia) to search for Zelko’s remains after Rini wrote a letter to Bobby Kennedy saying he was involved in the murder of Zelko and on 9th Nov 1959 they travelled to an orchard on Mike Kozak’s farm on Renwick Road Joliet and spent the day digging holes in the search for Molly Zelko, yet came up empty. Kennedy mentioned this in his book “The Enemy Within.” Rini was taken to testify to the Rackett’s Committee regarding Zelko’s Murder, but pled the 5th amendment on each and every question, later saying it was all a hoax.
Many leads came up over the years including:
The bar tender who saw Molly Zelko the night she disappeared, saying that she had a drink, received $4 change, tipped him half a dollar and made two phone calls from the bar before leaving to drive home, although he only came forward decades later as a result of John Whiteside’s articles.
Not to mention that in the 1960’s a tipster told police she was buried in a grave near a flowing well in Pilcher Park but investigators found no trace of Zelko.
And on 10th Oct 2004 Karl & Rebecca Darley discovered a concrete filled bath tub underneath the property of their 429 Buell Avenue home, believing it could contain Zelko’s remains they contacted police, Detective Tom Quillman, Srgt Dave Stoddard, Officer William Smith and Rich Trafton investigated under the supervision of Chief David Gerdes and Deputy Chief Fred Hayes, even calling in the Cook County bomb disposal squad to x-ray the concrete, they eventually smashed it with hammers but there was nothing there.
Apart from the above other occurrences over the years related to this case are:
1. The 17 ½ Carat Ring, which was brought for Molly by her brother Ernest and displayed at the Illinois Worlds Fair in 1934 was found in the possession of one of Molly’s friends ( a male politician in Joliet – although I don’t know his name – sorry) after Molly’s death and returned to her family.
2. The reporter John Whiteside had possession of Molly’s shoes since he was given them by the ex Sheriff Joe Trizna, years after Molly’s death. They were apparently black open toed pumps. And he also had a copy of Molly’s dental records, apparently given to him by her family (I believe one of her brother’s was a dentist), not to mention FBI files on the case, witness reports, Molly’s old articles from The Spectator and Joliet police files.
3. People/law enforcement personnel connected to the case were:
Joe Trizna, Sheriff at the time Molly disappeared
John Dillon ex States Attorney was Captin of Detectives when Molly disappeared
Frank Masters a local Joliet lawyer and was states attorney in 1957
Bobby Kennedy, his assistant Jim Mcshane and convict James Rini (aka Green Hornet)
3. Molly’s friends were Billie Butler Serene who worked as the society editor of The Spectator (Molly’s newspaper) and William “Bill” McCabe her ex boss and current business partner at the time of her death – although it was eluded in 1957 that Bill and Molly had a more intimate relationship.
4. Molly was part owner of The Spectator which started publishing in 1929 and ceased publishing in 1965 and was also owned by William “Bill” McCabe (ex County State’s Attorney) who was Molly’s boss at the Prosecutor’s Office before he brought the paper and she came with him when he brought the new business, first working as his Secretary, then as Reporter and Editor and eventually part owner. No one knew she was part-owner of the paper until she disappeared. McCabe was attacked by gangsters (probably Mafia) who were never caught in 1947, McCabe was beaten, shot and left for dead on Bruce Road, he was 65 at the time and took a back seat in the running of the newspaper after this. Molly was obsessed with finding who was responsible for his attack, even driving past the local mob boss’s home on a regular basis and taking down licence plate numbers of the cars parked in his drive, it was said that she believed at the time of her disappearance that she was close to finding out who had orchestrated the attack, even hiring private investigators – McCabe died in August 1958. (Motive?)
5. The Spectator (Molly’s Newspaper, located on Cass Street) was bombed in 1937, the bomb being thrown through the window. Not to mention that Lynne Lichtenauer (a next door neighbour of reporter John Whiteside, who initially told him about the case) worked at The Spectator in 1958 and sat at Molly’s desk and said that there were bullet holes in the window next to the desk. (Had Molly been threatened/attacked before?)
6. The Spectator supported the election of candidates to the city counsel who voted to outlaw pinball machines just one month before Molly’s disappearance on Aug 5th 1957.
7. Also one week before her death Molly had sent a reporter and photographer to investigate a gambling house in down town Joliet.
8. And the mayor who Molly knew was convicted of income tax evasion on kickbacks and was sentenced to 1 year probation in 1957, which Molly wrote about and was actually very annoyed about, believing that he should have received a much harsher sentence.
9. 31 year old police Captain Billy dagget killed himself in January 1957, 9 months before Molly’s disappearance and had been close to her, although it is not clear how, he had married just 7 weeks before his death.
10. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Theodore Link also wrote about Molly’s disappearance in the St Louis Dispatch (newspaper) and he found a recording Zelko had made proving collusion between several contactors in Joliet bidding on public works projects (so that they could all get a piece of the business and make money – highly illegal) – she also had similar tapes regarding politicians and gangsters.
11. And on the day Molly disappeared police who traced her last movements said her day went something like this “she had a bacon on toast sandwich and black coffee for breakfast, a uniformed Joliet police officer came to her office the night she disappeared, colleagues stating that the door was closed, but they could still hear the two yelling and that Molly was upset after he left (he was never identified), she left work at 11.30pm telling a printer John Walsh she would see him in the morning, drove to the bar, had a drink, made two calls and drove home, disappearing never to be seen or heard from again.
12. Police initially believed she was kidnapped, but when no ransom note ever arrived they gave up on this theory.
13. Police searched her apartment on the second floor of 413 Buell Avenue the day after she disappeared after receiving a telephone call from her colleagues saying she was missing.
14. The day after she went missing Captain John Dillon (captain of detectives in 1957) combed the entire area of Buell Avenue in a helicopter not finding Molly anywhere.
15. The night she disappeared her shoes were found kicked off on the sidewalk, which is what she told friends she would do if attacked, yet her car keys were in their usual place underneath the drivers seat – which tells me that she was attacked as soon as she got out of the car, this was a planned attack, they were waiting for her!
16. Copies of The Spectator (Molly’s newspaper) can be found at the Abraham Lincoln Library in Springfield Illinois. They have 54 rolls of microfilm from the paper for the years 1929 – 1965 except for 1936, and 1961 – 1964. Or the Kankakee Public Library also have copies. (Might be a good idea to read articles written by Molly to identify possible enemies)
17. There are also several articles about Molly’s disappearance, and McCabe’s attempted murder which can be brought from the Chicago Daily Tribune’s website for $3 each and also on The New York Times website (under archives)
18. John Whiteside’s articles about Molly (all 35 or so of them) can be found at
www.highbeam.com
18. Also a sculpture was erected at Western Ave. and Centre St. has a pair of shoes representing Molly Zelko.
