Elgin detectives wade into five unsolved murders, one missing person case for new podcast

Chicago Tribune

3 days ago

Elgin Police Department's 'Somebody Knows Something' podcast launches its second season Aug. 11 fresh off its debut success in cracking the 42-year-old Karen Schepers missing person case.
This time around the cold-case detectives will be focusing on five unsolved murders and one missing person case from the 1970s.
'We are doing this because there is such a momentum (after the first season) that we can use to tap into these cases,' Police Chief Ana Lalley said. 'We have got to be constantly challenging ourselves.'
Earlier this year, detectives Andrew Houghton and Matt Vartanian launched a podcast in which they revisited the Schepers' case and reported their actions step by step. In a shocking turn of events, the detectives were able to find Schepers' car and remains in the Fox River, solving a case that had been open since April 1983.
Houghton is joined in the second podcast by detective Christopher Hall, who was tapped for the assignment after Vartanian was promoted to sergeant.
Hall, a night shift patrol officer for nine years and former SWAT team member, became a detective in May. He jumped at the chance to be part of the Cold Case Unit, he said.
'I think the work is fascinating,' Hall said. 'It's like jumping into a time capsule, so to speak, to work each case. It's a challenge, but I wholeheartedly take on that challenge with Andrew.
'If I can give one family, just like Karen's family, that resolution, that piece of mind, it's a win for me. It's what keeps me motivated and moving forward with these cases.'
The Elgin Police Department has 41 unsolved homicides, 27 unsolved sexual assault cases and five missing persons cases, Hall said.
'Our goal in each episode is to humanize who the victim was, share some information on their case, seek information and remember the victim,' he said. 'We want to honor the victims.'
Because they're reviewing five cold cases, rather than one, the new episodes will be a little longer than those in the first season.
'We are actively working the cases,' Houghton said. 'We thought we would work chronologically.'
The oldest case involves the death of 35-year-old Guadalupe Alanis on June 30, 1971. He was working as a foreman at Woodruff and Edward Foundry on North State Street when he was shot and killed.
Alanis was buried in Mexico and none of his family could be found to be still living in the area, the detective said.
'There are certain challenges the further you go back,' Houghton said. 'The evidence gets more degraded. We have far fewer people with us who we can interview again.'
The other unsolved murders they will be exploring are:
The missing person case involves Barbara Glueckert, 14, who was reported missing on Aug. 21, 1976. She was last seen walking to church, and is believed to have been invited to attend a concert in Huntley by a man identified as Thomas Urlacker. Glueckert's family filed a civil suit against Urlacker in 1980 and was awarded $5.15 million, according to published reports.
Some episodes will involve family members or close friends, Houghton said.
'Some people are happy to talk to us for the investigation but don't want to be used in a podcast,' he said. They will be using information from actual police reports and voice actors will read witness statements, he said.
The hope is someone comes forward with new information on any of the cases.
Houghton said he learned at a training session that the most common way cold cases are solved is when there is a change in relationships. People come forward with information after they break up with a significant other or no longer feel forced to stay quiet, he said.
Sometimes, people will remember details that may not have been shared with police at the time. In the Schepers case, police did more interviews with witnesses who saw her the night she went missing, which helped them build a more specific timeline of her disappearance.
The podcast also helps put a human face on the victims so listeners can form a connection with them and their family, Lalley said.
'They were always very respectful to Karen and her family and respectful to the investigation,' she said. 'People saw how genuine Houghton and Vartanian were and what we were trying to accomplish: to give her family peace.'
Houghton said they didn't want to wait six months to put out more content, especially after the first one generated such a strong following.
'We wanted to get information out there while people are still interested in the podcast,' he said. 'We were going to be happy if we had a few hundred people (Iistening but it ended up) in the 1% of all podcasts globally. … It's kind of crazy.'
Houghton and Vartanian have been nominated for an award as Podcast America's Greatest Detective. They will be going to Aurora, Colorado, in September for the competition.