IL IL - Debbie Fijan, 10, DuPage County, 11 Feb 1966 - #2

[Cubby]

Hi I am Luckymanuh. I have been researching Richard Macek and his assaults and murders for over 20 years now. I have always thought he was responsible for Debbie Fijan's murder and more. I think Debbie was his 2nd murder victim.
I had a sit down the Dupage County Cold Case Detectives, it's been at least 5-8 year now and there was no progress. They were VERY interested and we talked for 2 hours, emailed back and forth for months but nothing became of it. Unfortunately, the Cold Case Detectives are not given alot of hours to put to these cases. It is a shame. They are pulled off to do other things also.
I have spoken to every LEA there is in towns and states where I know and think Macek committed murders and assaults to no avail. It is like he is untouchable. I think it is harder for LE to really look at a connection in cases when the murderer is dead. They would rather have him to talk to, that is my opinion.
I must say it is refreshing that my eyes are not the only ones that see a connection. After all these years, and all the research I started wondering if I am just reaching.

Luckymanuh

Luckymanuh. I so hope you come back. I am VERY interested in hearing what you have learnt about Macek, and what other case info you might have to compare to Debbies case. Debbies case has kind of become an obsession of mine, and having so little idea what DuPage has done on her case in the past I would like to hear what you know..... and what you can share.

I'm not sure if you were aware, Debbies brother Jack had posted here under the hat dfijan. He informed us when he contacted DuPage they had dismantled ( right word?) the cold case group at DuPage for some time and it was recently reassembled not too long before he called. I'm unsure exactly how recent to his contacting DuPage.

I'm in DuPage, and I know (posted somewhere in the first thread) that DuPage county had an appx 12 million dollar budget SURPLUS for 2009, so imo, there is no good reason NOT to have the funds to get some attention to the cold cases. I also know in DuPage various LE from cities and villages are assigned to do some work on certain projects and in certain area's in conjuction with DuPage Sheriffs office. I don't know if that includes cold cases, but I know for a fact it does include other types of investigations.

 

[Luckymanuh]

I got involved in researching ROM because I personally knew the man convicted of the Sally Kandel murder.
It is a shame back then LEA did not communicate with each other because they had a Serial Killer on their hands, but back then there was no such title for them.
If I remember correctly, I had been told Macek may have had some relative that lived out in this area. Could be why he came out here.
I read Dr Morrison's book also, alot of it I take with a grain of salt, to drama it up to sell a book. I have my facts I gathered speaking to LE.
As far as the lawyers for Milone, Mr Kutner is diseased. Dupage County had a chance at having ROM but let him go. I view how the Jeannes Niccaraco Case was handled has how they handled Sally Kandel's case, and let a serial killer go to kill more until his capture.

 

[Cubby]

thank you LuckyManuh. I am so sorry your friend had to spend 20 years of his life inprisoned for a crime he did not commit. I recall reading DuPage was made aware of Macek very early on, in the 70's still and appeared to have little interest- at least according to media articles - in Maceks role in Sally's murder. It's a damn shame it took this county 20 years to figure it out. Not that it makes a difference for your friend, for Sally, for those Macek murdered AFTER he murdered Sally.... but I try to remind myself LE has much better training and skills now than they did in the 60's and 70's.

I knew one of Milones atty's were deceased, they aren't both deceased IIRC. I found contact info for one and passed it along to Shadowangel.

I have a few specific questions if you might know......

1)Do we know where in Elmwood Park, IL Maceks family lived, from what years and where did he go to school?

2)We found one article Macek did time for a 1968 rape or attempted rape ( I can't recall, which). Do you know what years he was inprisoned? Was this his first jail/prison time. Do you happen to have dates of incarceration for him? Or better said, have you been able to determine he could not have been in the area of Debbies school when she was murdered?

3)Do you have any information on Maceks employment history that would have placed him near Debbies school?

4)Do we have a 'family' tree on him? Normally we do not 'sleuth' innocent family members, but it is OK to use INITIALS and see if we can find if he had family he visited in the proximity of Debbies home, school, the closer to the immediate area versus his ties to the McHenry/Crystal Lake area's. Those are close, but not exactly in the immediate area. In other words they are not close enough that is would be likely someone would travel between those two distances on an every day basis due to their routine.

I know we would love to dig more into Macek to find more ties to place him closer to the area Debbie was murdered or rule him out.

I would love to know if Milones atty, if the one still living, could gain access to Maceks full rap sheet.... even to see if Macek was incarcerated on the day/evening Debbie was murdered. At least that way we could rule him out.

I so wish I had access to the stuff more than just us regular old citizens could get our hands on.

Have you read both threads here on Debbies case? Just curious.... I think we have found a lot of great info... maybe even more so on this case than any other cold case we have sleuthed here at WS.

Welcome again, it is so great to have another set of interested eyes on Debbies case!

 

[Luckymanuh]

I will have to dig out my file on Macek. I use to know it by heart. I was obessed, I must admit. Still am to a point to bring closure to alot of families who's loved ones may have fallen victim to him.
If my memory serves me correctly, I remember being told he had relatives out in the western suburbs. So that could be why he would be out in this neck of the woods back then. Elmwood Park to West Chicago was a long haul being Rt 64 for only 2 lanes.
He as known to go back to the scene of the crime when the cops were there and be a bystander to watch the havoc he caused.
Supposedly he even sat in the courtroom of my friend during his trail for a murder he committed. Now tell me that guy did not feel he was above the law and was impowered!!!
LEA's said they were sexually motivated murders but he never raped according to the LE I have spoken too. He had a thing for women's underwear so the first impression seeing the body when found was that conclusion because of the state of the clothing.
His murders were always overkill. He always seemed to enraged. I never truly understood what caused it. They always say a parent mother or father...but I really don't know and never will. He never killed a male. The Lossman murders he left the boy to sleep in his bed untouched even though he set the apt on fire. I guess in his mind he did not kill the boy, the fire would have if a neighbor did not report it.
What I want to know is the name of the woman he was married to.

 

[Cubby]

Thanks. I would love to know who Maceks relatives in the far western suburbs were and how close they lived to Benjamin school. We have to use initials though... we can share full names via pm or email. (you will need some more posts though before you can use pm's.)

IIRC Maceks wifes name began with a J.

ETA: Now I can't remember if it was his wife's name which started with a J or his mothers name.

 

[Cubby]

IIRC Doctor Morrison mentions the name of Maceks wife in her book. I recall seeing at one time Macek addressed her as his wife, and sent her a letter. I will see if I can find the info with his wifes name.

 

[Cubby]

ROM's divorce is listed at Ancestry. His wifes name was Sandra, and the doctor also mentions a letter ROM penned her where he called her Sandy........

Oddly Ancestry lists the divorce in Florida. I don't know if ROM lived there at some point, or his wife filed for divorce in FL.

 

[Abbey5]

Thanks. I would love to know who Maceks relatives in the far western suburbs were and how close they lived to Benjamin school. We have to use initials though... we can share full names via pm or email. (you will need some more posts though before you can use pm's.)

IIRC Maceks wifes name began with a J.

ETA: Now I can't remember if it was his wife's name which started with a J or his mothers name.

Maceks mothers name was Juanita. She died in 1994. She lived in Mount Prospect.

I don't ever remember seeing his wifes name. In an article from when he was arrested in CA and brought back to WI, it only said wife and step-children. It didn't even list where the children were enrolled in school.

 

[Abbey5]

ROM's divorce is listed at Ancestry. His wifes name was Sandra, and the doctor also mentions a letter ROM penned her where he called her Sandy........

Oddly Ancestry lists the divorce in Florida. I don't know if ROM lived there at some point, or his wife filed for divorce in FL.

As far as I know you can only file for divorce in the state you were married. If this is his wife, he might have met her when he was a truck driver or they drove there for some reason and decided to get married. I'll have to do some digging to see if this was his wife.

 

[Cubby]

As far as I know you can only file for divorce in the state you were married. If this is his wife, he might have met her when he was a truck driver or they drove there for some reason and decided to get married. I'll have to do some digging to see if this was his wife.

Ancestry and Dr. M's book both list the name Sandra or Sandy. But a second set of eyes looking Ancestry would be good. Especially with the inaccuracies we found in Dr. M's book. - and especially since I don't have an ancestry membership.

Thanks!

 

[Luckymanuh]

Macek's mother lived in McHenry and as far as I know died there also. She had put that house up for bond when he was arrested and fled to CA. But she never lost it. Plus a girl that lived 3 house down from her was murderered. She was his last murder victim. Killed 23 days before his assault in Woodstock that got him arrested in IL. Now really, this guy had some guts!! I don't know if the McHenry County Sherrifs ever made the connections.

 

[Cubby]

I wonder.... Maceks DNA should be in Codis, no? Wouldn't it make sense to enter Maceks DNA into Codis since he was convicted of so many murders, even though they occured in the 1970's? Especially to see if he was linked to any unsolved murders. And wouldn't it make sense his prints should be in AFIS for the same reason?

or would that just be too logical?

Is there any way we can find out if Maceks DNA is in Codis? and/or his prints in AFIS?


:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

 

[Abbey5]

Macek's mother lived in McHenry and as far as I know died there also. She had put that house up for bond when he was arrested and fled to CA. But she never lost it. Plus a girl that lived 3 house down from her was murderered. She was his last murder victim. Killed 23 days before his assault in Woodstock that got him arrested in IL. Now really, this guy had some guts!! I don't know if the McHenry County Sherrifs ever made the connections.

Welcome Luckymanuh,

I posted these two news article back in the first thread and thought I'd repost them since you mentioned that a neighbor of Macek's mother was murdered. I had never heard of Michelle Becker before I read these articles. She was found drowned in a creek in McHenry county on July 4th, 1975. I don't know if Macek had guts or was just crazy or both, which is a very bad combination.


Nov. 5, 1977 Daily Herald.

Macek confessed to Lossman, her daughter, Sally Kandel, and Michelle Becker murders. LE would not confirm or deny the confession in the Kendel and Becker case, but McHenry County Sheriff's Lt. George Hendle said, "We negotiated on the plea that Macek went down on. We're going to clear the case on Micelle Becker.


Nov. 4, 1977 Daily Herald

Macek pleaded guilty to the murder of Lossman and was sentenced to 200-400 years in prison. Macek was named in a two count indictment Nov. 19, 1976 for the murder of Lossman and her daughter. In a negotiated plea, the state withdrew the indictment for the daughters murder. Macek will serve the sentence concurrently with a 50-75 year sentence in McHenry county for the 1975 attempted murder of Sharon Kultsek of Woodstock. He was returned to WI to serve his life sentence for 1974 rape-murder of a maid. He is also serving an indefinite sentence in Central State Hospital in Waupon, WI for the rape-murder of a maid.

I don't know what kind of negotiating they had going on here but he confessed to four murders and gets a plea bargin and it is dropped to one murder (Lossman).

I found Macek's mothers social security death index and it said he had died in Mount Prospect, Cook County, IL. Maybe she moved to a nursing home or moved in with a relative at that time. She was 79 years old when she passed away. I'm glad that she did not lose her house when she put up his bond.

 

[Abbey5]

I wonder.... Maceks DNA should be in Codis, no? Wouldn't it make sense to enter Maceks DNA into Codis since he was convicted of so many murders, even though they occured in the 1970's? Especially to see if he was linked to any unsolved murders. And wouldn't it make sense his prints should be in AFIS for the same reason?

or would that just be too logical?

Is there any way we can find out if Maceks DNA is in Codis? and/or his prints in AFIS?


:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

I think Maceks DNA should be in Codis and his prints in AFIS. Why the heck didn't they go after him for the murders that he confessed to? I guess it boils down to the relatives of these victims really pushing for this. Look at what Jack is going through right now. And is there any evidence left in any of these cases? I don't know how many times I have read where after a certin amount of time evidence is thrown away or LE has even taken evidence home with them. I think it would take a dedicated detective to make this happen.

 

[Cubby]

If I found out the evidence in Debbies case is missing or lost,
I think I would throw up. Literally. I pray that is not the case.

Murder case evidence, at least in DuPage, is supposed to be held forever.... Even long after convictions. Long after the process of appeals..... because one never knows if the perp could possibly be tied to another case. Problem is those laws are current and don't necessarily go back to the 60's and 70's so who knows what happened with stuff from those decades.


I wish Jack would stop in and give us an update of some kind. Even if it is something short and simple such as DNA is being tested........or is "in line" at the crime lab to be tested.

If the waiting is this bad for me, and I feel so selfish..... they have been waiting longer than I have been alive.

 

[Abbey5]

Abbey when you get a minute, since you have the ancestry membership is it possible you can take a look at this. Initials and an age are ok....

thanks!

JS was married in March of 1955. No age was mentioned. WS was the next oldest then a sister MS. LS was born in 1939 and the youngest was KS who was born in 1944. An ad for an Auction sale that JS put in the paper (9/01/1955) said that his boys were called to war and that was why he had to have the sale.

 

[Cubby]

Well, my patience was getting to me.... so I shot off another email to the detective handling debbies case as I will likely not be able to reach him by phone. here it is.

Note: I deliberately added the word unsolved twice, along with the closing paragraph about hoping to see DuPage added to the list of cities across the country solving their cold case crimes with todays scientific technology. Hoping a little 'competition' with other counties and states might motivate to get DuPage added to that list!


Hi Detective <Name>,

I had emailed you about 6 weeks ago or so on some information a group of us discussion Debbie Fijans unsolved cold case murder had uncovered at Websleuths.com regarding a possible second suspect in Debbies case. A new member has joined our discussion at websleuths, also a resident of DuPage like myself, and had also made the same connection we did regarding Richard Otto Macek as a possible second suspect in Debbie's unsolved case.

I was hoping you might be able to provide an update to where things stand with reviewing her case file and perhaps some info on DNA or any testing of evidence which could be done. Macek has a criminal history so his prints should be in AFIS and his DNA should be in CODIS. I'm hoping that might be relatively easy for you to compare if the case is at the stage where the perps DNA has been identified- or seperated from Debbies and her family dna?

It's a little difficult to be patient with Debbies case after seeing so many cold case crimes solved due to todays scientific technology by various cold case departments across the country. I'm hoping- and anxious- to see DuPage added to that list!

Thank you for any updates you can provide and I look forward to speaking with you when you have the chance.


Let's hope things are moving!

 

[shadowangel]

I'm not sure that Macek's DNA profile would be on record. Keep in mind that DNA use as evidence didn't happen until the late '80s (the first conviction based on DNA evidence occuring in 1987, the year Macek killed himself).

The possibility exists that some evidence from other cases is available which may yield a DNA profile, but I tend to doubt that most departments would foot the bill for DNA testing in the case of a murderer now dead for over a decade.

Unfortunate as that would be to the potential of closing various cold cases.

 

[Cubby]

I'm not sure that Macek's DNA profile would be on record. Keep in mind that DNA use as evidence didn't happen until the late '80s (the first conviction based on DNA evidence occuring in 1987, the year Macek killed himself).

The possibility exists that some evidence from other cases is available which may yield a DNA profile, but I tend to doubt that most departments would foot the bill for DNA testing in the case of a murderer now dead for over a decade.

Unfortunate as that would be to the potential of closing various cold cases.

Why would another jurisdiction have to pay for it? Why couldn't DuPage request the evidence from another jurisdiction and test it themselves? DuPage has their own crime lab...... I've toured it..... They are not reliant on waiting on the state of Il lab.....
Why not just see if another jurisdiction has remaining evidence, request it be sent to DuPage and test it? After all there has to be a LITTLE BIT of that 12 million dollar budget surplus that can be spent on Debbies case.

jmo

 

[rpipergirl]

Welcome Luckymanuh, I can't wait to hear what you have on ROM. I think he is an excellent suspect based on what folks here have dug up on his criminal history.
I am also sorry for your friend.