Chicago Sun Times
CHICAGO — In what sounds like a script from the “Cold Case” TV series, Evergreen Park police say they might have solved an 18-year-old murder.
Using technology not available in 1992, a crime lab has linked the DNA of a felon to that found on a piece of chewing gum at the murder scene -- but the man was killed a year ago when hit by a train in Missouri, police said.
The DNA match was to Richard A. Ivester, formerly of Evergreen Park, a felon who was required to give a DNA sample upon his release from prison in Missouri in 2007.
On Feb. 21, 1992, Loraine Rudenga, 69, was beaten to death with a shovel in her home in the 8800 block of Albany Avenue. Her body was found early the next day after a neighbor noticed lights on in the house and the rear door open.
Police collected and stored evidence in the case, including a piece of chewing gum found on the victim’s neck.
In January, police got a letter saying a match was found on the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System. Police stressed that the DNA match does not prove that Ivester killed Rudenga but does place him at the scene. ''We can’t say he did it. We certainly believe he had a lot to do with it,’' Police Chief Michael Saunders said.
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