IL IL - Debbie Fijan, 10, DuPage County, 11 Feb 1966 - #1

[rpipergirl]

Are there other viable suspects in this case? We can not get tunnel vision like LE has in this case. If LE was not called until 6:44pm my question is: WHY! Why would any mom wait 1hr.and 14min. before reporting her child missing?

 

[shadowangel]

Remembering this was a different time...Her parents first reaction was most likely to look around themselves, call neighbors and friends... Then place a call to the police.

That someone would kidnap and murder their child was most likely the last thought on the parents' minds, since things like that 'just didn't happen'.

 

[LisaWilliams]

It was interesting that when Anthony Verive (Tony) was notified that she was missing....he drove right to the body and discovered her. He was questioned intensely by police as a suspect at that time. He lived in between my house and Debbie's at that time but I believe was away at college. They had dogs searching and were already searching Sidwell pond that evening after school. That is perhaps how LS was discovered at the school burning his ....the school was right behind Sidwell's pond and he went there to burn papers rather than search for Debbie.

When Tony arrived home (from college?) he drove to where Debbie's body was at like 2:00 in the morning.....interesting IMO. We both (Debbie and I) spent time at Tony's house. If my memory serves me correctly, we would babysit his child while he and his brother had pool parties.

 

[Cubby]

At the time of Debbie's death, Loren had two brothers, John and Wayne. I suppose its possible that this John ran for the office previously held by the father...

would you care to share? This is the first I have seen of LS having siblings. Did he have any sisters?

 

[LisaWilliams]

You're right about that.....having a teacher drive a student home then was as normal as anything. There was another teacher in Little Wood and we would visit her house as well. So, having Debbie visit him at his home would have been normal too. In retrospect.....that sort of behavior now would be suspect and be considered VERY suspicious.

 

[shadowangel]

Purely speaking my own thoughts here...This wasn't a random act by a passer-by. The area at the time was rural, and I imagine not well travelled even by residents of the area. The apparent lack of any sign of molestation further reinforces in my mind that this wasn't a random attack.

We just don't know enough about the evidence to develop another suspect. Even discounting the media tendency to sensationalize, what information we do have access to all points to LS as the primary suspect.

 

[shadowangel]

would you care to share? This is the first I have seen of LS having siblings. Did he have any sisters?

This info is from that same article you pointed me to, "We Have Our Man". The article mentions that LS was visited in jail by "his father and two of his brothers, Wayne and John" as well as his attorney, Robert Chapski.

I still can't save the article to share it, maybe because as a purchased article access to it expires in 90 days. I'm not the most computer-savvy person as it is.

 

[LisaWilliams]

BBM. Lisa, I missed this first time around reading your post. Was on the way to get out of here to bring my son to his grandma's. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. May I ask, were you ever interviewed by LE?

As you have read, Debbie's brother Jack recently found us. For which I am glad for a few reasons. I think witnesses still being around, the family being encouraged to know they have the support behind them to pursue this again. I am hoping we find more of your and Debbies peers, former teachers to participate here.... If for nothing else to let Debbies family know she has never been forgotten.

I think, this just might be the turning point, family being involved again, to get DuPage to take a close look at this case again. Without that 'some kind of development' to look at it again, it may not have been and this might just be it!

I'm going to work on doing what I can to find someone to run another story on this case. The last journalist who wrote a story a few years back about Debbie is no longer with the Daily Herald.

Once Jack posts again, and lets us know how is contact went with DuPage, perhaps he might be encouraged or suggest you contact DuPage as well.

I don't know who is currently the detective or investigator assigned to cold cases. I don't even know if the two mentioned in the most recent article about Debbie are still with DuPage. The only name I know at DuPage Sheriffs office from various news articles is Mark Edwalds who is
Detective Commander at DuPage County Sheriff. I have his email because I sent in a tip on an unrelated case. Perhaps we can get him to take a look at Debbies case. Everything I have read about Mark Edwalds has been very positive, and he has been around since at least the mid 80's.

I am hoping Debbie is smiling down on us from heaven, spreading her wings and saying it is time.... it is time. And that the long overdue justice for Debbie will start becoming swift. I just have that feeling......

Welcome again to WS Lisa. You have our support with the loss of your friend and your classmate too.

I was in 4th grade at the time....but yes, I was interviewed by LE. Again, if my memory serves me correctly, I was one of the last kids to see her alive. She was in the school with LS when I left with another student to walk home.

 

[rpipergirl]

You're right about that.....having a teacher drive a student home then was as normal as anything. There was another teacher in Little Wood and we would visit her house as well. So, having Debbie visit him at his home would have been normal too. In retrospect.....that sort of behavior now would be suspect and be considered VERY suspicious.

Not at all. Even in the '80's my school nurse brought me home when I got sick as my mom didn't drive. I lived walking distance ,but,was sick. Of course she was friends with my folks too. Was LS friendly with the Fijan's?

 

[LisaWilliams]

respectfully snipped.

Lisa, Hi, I know this might be hard for you, but I do hope you come back to WS and I do have a question for you. Was Debbie the kind of friend who liked to walk home from school with her neighbors? or did she not mind walking home from school alone sometimes. I ask because I was a walker and I hated walking home by myself. It was appx a 15 min walk for me and boring without a friend to talk to. I would have much rather left with a friend than to have stuck around and walked myself. Not because I was afraid, I just prefered the company. That leads me to wonder what kind of excuse LS might have given Debbie to stay behind.

I'm not even sure what questions you should answer here if you have never been interviewed by LE. Perhaps use your best judgement if something you share here might interfere with a continued investigation and/or before you have spoken with the detective currently handling this case. LE may ask you to refrain from sharing certain first hand information you have as a potential witness regarding this case.

We all want to see this solved.
Please understand you were just a kid when this happened.
You could not have known what was to happen.
IF LS is guilty, he then is responsible, not yourself for leaving before your friend did.

Saying prayers for Debbie, her family and her friends who love and miss her.

I don't really remember....I do know we kind of swapped friends that we would walk home with one day then the next. It was not uncommon for any of us to walk home alone. What I do know is that we all knew of the "friendship" she had with LS. It did not even enter our minds to be concerned for her if left alone with him at the school. It was such a small school that we all were close to our teachers. At that time it was a K-8 school with maybe 130 - 140 students.

It's nice of you to understand that I was just a kid....it was YEARS before I came to terms that it was not my fault for leaving...but also came to the realization that it could have been both of us if I had stayed and waited....

 

[LisaWilliams]

I don't recall any of the parents having any issues with LS. All of the kids liked him.
I do know that he went to the funeral.

 

[Cubby]

It was interesting that when Anthony Verive (Tony) was notified that she was missing....he drove right to the body and discovered her. He was questioned intensely by police as a suspect at that time. He lived in between my house and Debbie's at that time but I believe was away at college. They had dogs searching and were already searching Sidwell pond that evening after school. That is perhaps how LS was discovered at the school burning his ....the school was right behind Sidwell's pond and he went there to burn papers rather than search for Debbie.

When Tony arrived home (from college?) he drove to where Debbie's body was at like 2:00 in the morning.....interesting IMO. We both (Debbie and I) spent time at Tony's house. If my memory serves me correctly, we would babysit his child while he and his brother had pool parties.

Where exactly was sidwells pond? I am local, so I know your school was on St. Charles, and North Ave criss crosses there. Was the pond off North Ave or St. Charles? ( I remember when North Ave was two lanes and when Prince Crossing stables were open.... though I am from a bit further east closer to Elmhurst)

Nothing we have read in the news indicated Debbie was found at 2 am, media reported she was found between 10:30-11 pm, which I can understand might feel like 2am to a 5th grader. I can only imagine it felt like the night went on forever.

 

[LisaWilliams]

I just looked on Google maps and where Sidwell's was, is now Community Fellowship Church; however, it looks as if the pond is still there. The pond is between North Ave and St. Charles Rd....directly in front of the school. I used to fish there when I was a kid.

You are right....I am going on memory here! It perhaps did feel like 2:00am when I was a kid.

 

[Cubby]

I just looked on Google maps and where Sidwell's was, is now Community Fellowship Church; however, it looks as if the pond is still there. The pond is between North Ave and St. Charles Rd....directly in front of the school. I used to fish there when I was a kid.

You are right....I am going on memory here! It perhaps did feel like 2:00am when I was a kid.

TY! I know the church was across from the school. Abbey5 and I thought the sidwell pond was further east on North Avenue and away from the school. Not directly in front of it between the school and North Ave. North Ave. and St. Charles cross so closely at that location. From a google map, that pond appears to me like a man made retention pond so it is nice to clarify that was the pond searched.


I used to fish off the DuPage river not far from there... I still remember my first fish was a bull head.. and we brought it home to swim in the basement sink next to the washing machine.
:hug:

 

[shadowangel]

I don't recall any of the parents having any issues with LS. All of the kids liked him.
I do know that he went to the funeral.

Wow, that's really surprising. I'm surprised the family would let him anywhere near the funeral. Wasn't he in custody by then?

You have nothing to feel bad about. You were just a kid, and you trusted the adults around you. I can't help feeling, though, that some of the other adults who knew LS also knew that something wasn't right. Considering that some of his collection was found at his parents' farm....

I personally feel that Debbie was specifically targeted. Her killer just used the best opportuntiy he had, at least as he saw it.

 

[LisaWilliams]

Abbey, I have not seen all the articles you have, just what has been linked here. Was the neighbor that found Debbie named? Were you able to make any determinations regarding that neighbor? Is this the same neighbor that knew/knows Bellecomo? Were polygraphs admissable in court back in 1966? I am newer to the cold case area of the forum, hence the questions.


tia!

The neighbor that found Debbie was Tony Verive and I believe somewhere in previous threads that he knew Bellecomo.

 

[rpipergirl]

So this neighbor is a good suspect. I think police need to speak to him again. Is he still living? Do we know? If he went directly to the body and he is the one who showed Bellecomo the weapon why did police not get a search warrant for his home?

 

[Cubby]

Just a friendly reminder to everyone: We need to be carefull using full names, especially with living people never named a suspect. We can use initials as they were named in the earlier posted media articles.

 

[Cubby]

If this article is accurate this is getting us a little somewhere. At least with regards to questions.

(just another snippet)

'We've Got Our Man,' Sheriff Says

[SIZE=-1]Pay-Per-View - Chicago Tribune - ProQuest Archiver[SIZE=-1] - Feb 16, 1966[/SIZE]
[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Schofield was one of three persons involved in the case who drove a white car. So did the custodian of the school, and so did Anthony Verive, 18, ... [/SIZE]

Anthony was the neighbor who found Debbie according to earlier posts, who was home from college for the weekend and joined in the search.

Did LE ever compare the tire marks of all three cars? Did they ever check the other two cars for evidence? How were the custodian and AV ruled out?

BBM. bumping the post which indicates there were three persons involved who drove a white car.

LE has casts of the tire marks. I would think/hope that LE did compare the casts to each of the three cars, or at least attempted to with those who cooperated. Nothing indicates anyone other than LS was a suspect, so I am going to think that perhaps LE did compare the tire marks from AV's car and the custodians car and both were eliminated. That is most logical to me.....

Abbey5- in one of your older posts you mention reading a media article where someone with a white car was cleared, do you recall the name?

 

[Cubby]

I sent off an email request to John Dempsey with WLS AM 890 radio requesting his assistance with finding someone to run another story about Debbies case. He is the only local media person I know as he went to school with my sons father and godfather- and they are still friends that I know of.... He has been in broadcasting for 25 years and won several awards.

keep your fingers crossed he can provide me with a few names numbers and emails for someone at the Daily Herald who might be interested in this story, or perhaps the major Chicago media might be interested.

http://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=406665&spid=6789

Just an update. I did get an email back and John said he would think about who might be interested in this story and would get back to me. :woohoo:

If he is unable to find anyone I will just pick up a herald and contact whomever is writing the crime stories.....