Found Deceased WI - Kathleen Ryan, adult, teacher, car found burned with body inside, St. Francis, 2 Feb 2019

[Elainera]

Expected news but so very sad. Poor Kathleen. RIP now.

 

[MyBelle]

Payment is required inside because we have a ton of people who fill up and drive off if you don’t. It’s common practice at many gas stations especially along Hwy 41 and 43.

That makes sense. The place where we stopped was on a state highway very near the Interstate. Thanks.

 

[Schmitz5100]

Just out of curiosity and especially directed at those who are speculating "gang violence" as the cause here: do you know of any cases in which local gangs have killed someone while in commission of a robbery or other crime, driven their cars away from the city, then burned the bodies in the vehicles in private driveways -- acts which draw attention to the original crime?

MKE man accused of killing police informant

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wi...ing-attack-into-life-lesson-for-kids/21051113

Not the exact same scenario but illustrates the violence occurring in the area. These stories run on the news on a regular basis. I don’t know if it was personal or random but I don’t think a gang initiation could be out of question either.

 

[MyBelle]

If I were a carjacker, I would drive the car away while the person was inside, not wait until they came back out, kill them, then set the car on fire.
This feels personal to me. Fire was set to cover up the murder. JMO.

The fire didn't cover up the murder, the fire covered up the evidence of the killer. Not all drivers helpfully leave their keys in the car when they go in to pay. If the goal was to get the car so that the hijacker could get to Point B, they could pull a weapon and order the driver to get them there. I'd like to know if there was mass transit close to the scene.

JMO

 

[GraceG]

Just out of curiosity and especially directed at those who are speculating "gang violence" as the cause here: do you know of any cases in which local gangs have killed someone while in commission of a robbery or other crime, driven their cars away from the city, then burned the bodies in the vehicles in private driveways -- acts which draw attention to the original crime?

I'm not thinking the burning of the car was planned, but it was possibly a robbery by a local criminal, possibly a member of a gang, and she died either intentionally or by someone young who simply panicked and the vehicle was torched as they knew their info was in the system and they wanted to destroy evidence. It's not a rational act but done out of desperation. The robbery/car burning does happen in chicaco. Suburban police search for suspects in crime spree involving stolen purses, burned car

 

[Joe Friday]

The fire didn't cover up the murder, the fire covered up the evidence of the killer. Not all drivers helpfully leave their keys in the car when they go in to pay. If the goal was to get the car so that the hijacker could get to Point B, they could pull a weapon and order the driver to get them there. I'd like to know if there was mass transit close to the scene.

JMO

If this was a carjacking or similar crime I will be very surprised. The time line just doesn't fit for a carjacking. There is no way to explain the lapse in time from when Kathleen should have arrived to watch the game and when the vehicle was reported a fire.

JMO

 

[Schmitz5100]

Does anyone know if this will be investigated by law enforcement from the town she was found or St. Francis/ Milwaukee? Maybe a joint investigation?

 

[MyBelle]

If this was a carjacking or similar crime I will be very surprised. The time line just doesn't fit for a carjacking. There is no way to explain the lapse in time from when Kathleen should have arrived to watch the game and when the vehicle was reported a fire.

JMO

Where can I find the timeline?

 

[Joe Friday]

Does anyone know if this will be investigated by law enforcement from the town she was found or St. Francis/ Milwaukee? Maybe a joint investigation?

Town where she was found will be the lead investigation agency.

 

[Eleanor Rigby]

If I were a carjacker, I would drive the car away while the person was inside, not wait until they came back out, kill them, then set the car on fire.
This feels personal to me. Fire was set to cover up the murder. JMO.

It looks personal to me, too. I don't live in that area, but I live in a suburb of another major city with a long history of gangs and violence, and have followed the crime stories in my area for thirty years. I have read about many car jackings--both real and staged to cover up other crimes. When they seem somehow "off" and illogical, such as a lot of work and high risk for little apparent gain, they are usually attempts to cover up more serious crimes. The cases I recall involving burned bodies were personal, and were to cover up murder. I wonder who would benefit in some way from her death. I also wonder if she had enemies or was involved in any kind of legal proceedings. MOO.

 

[Joe Friday]

Where can I find the timeline?

The timeline is from noon when she left the Milwaukee area until just before 10:00 PM when the car was found burning. When factoring in the time it should have taken to drive to her destination compared to the six or seven extra hours until the car was reported a fire can't be expained . What did she do between that time is what makes no sense if this was a carjacking.


Read this article. Another teacher that was found in a remote area in a burned car that was ruled a suicide. Death of woman whose remains were found in burned car ruled a suicide, authorities say

 

[MyBelle]

Town where she was found will be the lead investigation agency.

I think she was found in the sheriff's jurisdiction rather than the town.

Kathleen Ryan's death remained under investigation Thursday by the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Milwaukee Police Department and the Illinois State Fire Marshal's Office.

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news...ehicle-identified-missing-teacher/2805359002/

 

[Eleanor Rigby]

Below is a link to an article about a nationally-known very bizarre murder that was staged as a car jacking. Jane Bashara's body wasn't burned, but it was left in her car in an alley in Detroit to make it appear like a car jacking. Jane lived in upscale Grosse Pointe, not the sketchy area of Detroit where she was found. I'm not suggesting a family member was involved in Kathleen's murder. I just thought of the Bashara case as a good example of using a staged car jacking in an attempt to cover a murder that was personal. With Detroit's reputation for violent crime, it worked for a little while.
Death of Jane Bashara - Wikipedia

 

[LarkBunting]

The timeline is from noon when she left the Milwaukee area until just before 10:00 PM when the car was found burning. When factoring in the time it should have taken to drive to her destination compared to the six or seven extra hours until the car was reported a fire can't be expained . What did she do between that time is what makes no sense if this was a carjacking.


Read this article. Another teacher that was found in a remote area in a burned car that was ruled a suicide. Death of woman whose remains were found in burned car ruled a suicide, authorities say

When I Google mapped St. Francis to Carmel High School, the time estimate was 1 hour, 6 minutes. She was last seen/spoken to (that we know of) at 12/12:30pm. The car was found burning at 9:50pm. Even if we pad the driving time & give her 1.5 hours to drive there, & go with the later contact time of 12:30pm, this leaves just ten minutes shy of 8 hours unaccounted for. What happened during those hours? Where was she? Was she held somewhere? This is all so horrifying.

 

[LarkBunting]

Oh! I remember reading that she wasn’t due at the game until 4:30pm. Yet, she left her home at 12/12:30pm for the 1 hour, 6 minute drive. To me, this suggests she may have had stops to make along the way, perhaps errands to do before arriving at the game? If so, this could account for some of the time, & could, sadly, be where she encountered whomever did this to her (I believe she was murdered). JMO

 

[Joe Friday]

Below is a link to an article about a nationally-known very bizarre murder that was staged as a car jacking. Jane Bashara's body wasn't burned, but it was left in her car in an alley in Detroit to make it appear like a car jacking. Jane lived in upscale Grosse Pointe, not the sketchy area of Detroit where she was found. I'm not suggesting a family member was involved in Kathleen's murder. I just thought of the Bashara case as a good example of using a staged car jacking in an attempt to cover a murder that was personal. With Detroit's reputation for violent crime, it worked for a little while.
Death of Jane Bashara - Wikipedia

I remember that case.

 

[MeJane00]

When I Google mapped St. Francis to Carmel High School, the time estimate was 1 hour, 6 minutes. She was last seen/spoken to (that we know of) at 12/12:30pm. The car was found burning at 9:50pm. Even if we pad the driving time & give her 1.5 hours to drive there, & go with the later contact time of 12:30pm, this leaves just ten minutes shy of 8 hours unaccounted for. What happened during those hours? Where was she? Was she held somewhere? This is all so horrifying.

She may not have left for Carmel game which was at 4:30 until 3pm. She was not meeting the family at their house. She was going straight to the game. So something could have happened near her house before she left. Or she could have left and run some errands. But this shortens the time to 6 hours maybe. imo

 

[YaYa_521]

I'm not sure whether this was personal or not, but I absolutely don't think this was a carjacking gone bad or initiation crime, not that those don't occur though. Rather this strikes me as a sexual predator who seized an opportunity to take advantage of her in order to satisfy his sexual deviance. I'm leaning this way simply because of the amount of time that lapsed between her last known contact and the discovery of the burning car. Let's keep in mind that she was missing for almost 8 hours. That is plenty enough time for a kidnapping, rape, murder, and the disposal of her body including the arson.

There are plenty of perverts roaming our streets, highways, and interstates. Most of our lives happen so very quickly and we're overly consumed with so much that keeps us distracted from our surroundings. It's not unreasonable to theorize that she was abducted without anyone noticing anything awry. Some criminals, especially SK and rapists, are very advanced in their planning and execution of crimes.

I could certainly see myself walking out of a store after making a purchase to then have a man or woman start a small talk conversation with me. I'll speak, usually, because the odds are that he/she will not attack or kidnap me. Having said that though, if he is up to no good, all he may have to do is position himself so others can't see then he simply either shows a weapon or warns that he has one while instructing me to walk calmly to my car. Once in the car he's more likely to succeed in the kidnapping.

All of this is MOO based on a) what I think happened and b) what I think I'd do in that situation. All I am able to do is to be prepared (e.g., self-defense training, whistle, mace, sharp objects, loud bull horn, a gun, etc.) and be aware. And that would be my advise to anyone, not just women. Times have changed. Crime, perhaps as a result of addiction and mental illness, seems to have gotten more prevalent and especially more henious. Many of our police forces are overwhelmed with crime and severely too underfunded to give me confidence in them providing me with much safety and security. In no way do I say this disrespectfully; there simply isn't enough LE officers and those we have, most give everything they have to offer. Sadly, it just isn't enough.

 

[TGIRecovered]

I’m afraid that a substantial percentage of deaths which are ruled to be suicide or accidental are actually murders, especially when the victim is a woman or a child.

As YaYa_521 pointed out, police departments are underfunded and short-staffed. I know this to be the case where I live. Administrators are under constant pressure from city managers to cut the budget. When detectives have so many cases and a medical examiner says suicide I can see the pressure to accept the ruling and close the case. It’s a big deal to challenge manner of death. These days, even when it’s totally obvious to those who investigate, it’s all for naught unless you have a clear video of the perp committing a murder, blood, fingerprints, clothing with victim DNA and a confession, juries don’t convict. OJ wasn’t unique. MOO

 

[GraceG]

I'm not sure whether this was personal or not, but I absolutely don't think this was a carjacking gone bad or initiation crime, not that those don't occur though. Rather this strikes me as a sexual predator who seized an opportunity to take advantage of her in order to satisfy his sexual deviance. I'm leaning this way simply because of the amount of time that lapsed between her last known contact and the discovery of the burning car. Let's keep in mind that she was missing for almost 8 hours. That is plenty enough time for a kidnapping, rape, murder, and the disposal of her body including the arson.

There are plenty of perverts roaming our streets, highways, and interstates. Most of our lives happen so very quickly and we're overly consumed with so much that keeps us distracted from our surroundings. It's not unreasonable to theorize that she was abducted without anyone noticing anything awry. Some criminals, especially SK and rapists, are very advanced in their planning and execution of crimes.

I could certainly see myself walking out of a store after making a purchase to then have a man or woman start a small talk conversation with me. I'll speak, usually, because the odds are that he/she will not attack or kidnap me. Having said that though, if he is up to no good, all he may have to do is position himself so others can't see then he simply either shows a weapon or warns that he has one while instructing me to walk calmly to my car. Once in the car he's more likely to succeed in the kidnapping.

All of this is MOO based on a) what I think happened and b) what I think I'd do in that situation. All I am able to do is to be prepared (e.g., self-defense training, whistle, mace, sharp objects, loud bull horn, a gun, etc.) and be aware. And that would be my advise to anyone, not just women. Times have changed. Crime, perhaps as a result of addiction and mental illness, seems to have gotten more prevalent and especially more henious. Many of our police forces are overwhelmed with crime and severely too underfunded to give me confidence in them providing me with much safety and security. In no way do I say this disrespectfully; there simply isn't enough LE officers and those we have, most give everything they have to offer. Sadly, it just isn't enough.

Very valid points and thanks for the detail. I live in a small village in Chicago. We're unique in that we are surrounded on three sides by dense parks and on one side by a freeway, so there is not a lot of "through" traffic so our crime rate is much lower than the rest of the city. Still, one day, when I was at a gas station I noticed a young man acting erratically coming down the sidewalk and moving towards me. I got in the vehicle and locked the doors. He started banging on the glass, demanding I get out of the vehicle, hard enough I thought the glass would break. Based on his pupils I'm pretty sure he was high. I drew my firearm where he could see it and he immediately ran off. The gas station owner had already called the police. They didn't catch him, but it made me glad I'm overly aware of what is going on around me.