By: Diane Benjamin
Most people remember the 1993 Jennifer Lockmiller case where Alan Beaman was declared innocent after spending years in prison. https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3018
The case is still unsolved. Is anyone investigating now? Lockmiller was not the only unsolved murder on the ISU campus however.
In 1975 Carol Rofstad was murdered outside her sorority house. The two cases are similar in that the police fixated on who they wanted to be guilty while ignoring other possible suspects. According to the below the Normal Police Department have refused to assist those wanting the case solved and are still heavily redacting information on FOIA requests pertaining to the soon to be 50 year old case.
A group has created a series of podcasts on the Rofstad case. Three episodes have been posted so far: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/carols-last-christmas-on-radio-misfits/id1654092006
Description from the website:
Just 48 hours before Christmas, 1975, 21 year old Carol Rofstad was bludgeoned and left for dead on the lawn of the Delta Zeta sorority house at Illinois State University. She never opened her eyes again. Her friends and family believe whoever killed Carol was the same person who attacked her in a darkened sorority bedroom the prior summer. And they believe that man is still alive.
Why was he never charged? Why was he never even interrogated? Two investigative reporters and a career Chicago homicide cop uncover the missed leads, missteps and shocking new revelations in a case nearly a half century COLD. New Episodes Every Thursday.
I’m told the Beaman case will be mentioned in later episodes. New episodes may eventually be released sooner than every Thursday. There will be 9 in all. So far all episodes have been around 1/2 hour.
The Normal police need to explain why anything is redacted this many years later. Carol’s family deserves the truth. So does Jennifer’s.
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Apparently the man who they believe did it, had a big name in town and on campus. Also, where she is buried, the street next to her happens to be the same name as the suspect. Possibly the same one who broke in the sorority house the summer of 1974 , threatened her and broke her nose. Hhhmmmm.
Wow. I just looked at the names of the roads in and around the cemetery. Only one name jumped off the page.
Is there somewhere to view any foia’d evidence? I looked at street names and nothing is coming up in searches. Curious to learn more about the case and see a list of suspects that were polygraphed.
I don’t remember if the podcast mentioned a website or not
There are several sites.
I found it in many articles written. They never actually give the name. But, they know. It is so heavily redacted.
Hopefully the biases and incompetency of 50 and 25 years ago no longer apply to today’s Police Department. But judging from the police bullying of businesses during the virus hysteria, I’d be surprised if they don’t at least somewhat.
I’m sure the redactions are frustrating, but they may be legit even after all this time. Hard to tell without more details.
I know the exact spot she’s buried.
Feel sorry for Beaman? The guy was a cocky and arrogant a-hole and likely still is. Everyone realizes even his ” friends” lamented about his short temper and regularly going over to Lockmiller”s apartment and ripping doors off the hinges. The dude basically convicted himself by his behavior in court and in front of the media. He’s a narcissist supreme who’s best friend was himself. It was a known fact he was hitting on a desk girl at the hotel is parents were staying in during the trial. Don’t really know if he did it or not but smart money still says he was likely involved in some way or knew who did. Wasn’t exactly broken up.about his former gal pal buying the farm. A jerk of the highest order in my.opinion.
He was declared innocent!
In Illinois or BN, so what? Place leads the league in likely murderers walking the streets. Don’t care if he was innocent or not. Dude was a battered at very least that should have served time for battery, criminal damage to property and contempt of court.
You are an absolute tool. Are many of us immature and stupid at a young age? Yes. Were you?? From your post sounds like you still are immature and stupid. Whatever mistakes Alan made he paid for x 1000. And…he did NOT kill Jennifer or have anything to do with it. He was absolutely railroaded. Today, he is a soft spoken hard-working humble man…and he came out of prison knowing he couldn’t hang on to the bitterness of spending 13 years in brutal surroundings for doing…well, nothing.
I have a facebook page dedicated to Carol’s case called “Who killed Carol Rofstad?” if anyone would like to join. I plan to make a similar page for Jennifer and work to get those case files and find out who really killed her.