Shelter in Place Killer
Shelter in Place Killer
(Editor’s note: Due to Complications due to Hurricane Zeta, this article was published 2 days late.)(Additional Editor note: Zeta was in 2020)(Additional Editor's note: No arrests or suspects as of this reposting)
(Haddonfield, IL) Officials are warning locals to use extreme caution this Halloween. This warning is coming off the discovery of 9 bodies this week, including the Tenenbaums, family of 4, found last night.
Sheriff Loomis urged the town in his press conference last night to, “Be vigilant and use common sense which includes; traveling in large groups, staying in well-lit areas, ensuring all doors and windows are secured, and reporting Anyone, and I mean Anyone wo looks suspicious.”
He went on to discuss that given it is Halloween, he expects to receive more than normal reports this year. Sheriff Loomis and Mayor Barclay considered implementing a curfew that would begin at dusk, but decided that given this year’s pandemic, children needed some sense of normalcy.
While many parents are opting out of Trick or Treating for a family night of movies and pizza, many more are planning on hitting the streets, costumes on and bags in hand.
One such parent is Mike Norris (48). Norris said, “The streets are the safest place out here. I mean, all the bodies have been found in their homes.”
This is true. The first victim (Annie Baker 72) was discovered Monday morning by her granddaughter, Laurie Rose (34) in her home. Mrs. Rose was dropping off supplies when she noticed the door was ajar. She stated that she thought her grandmother probably did not shut it all the way after taking her dog out for a walk.
Sheriff Loomis reported that Rose found her grandmother sprawled on the floor unresponsive.
Rose later told reporters, “It was her eyes! Her eyes were the worse part of it. Why would someone do something so cruel to someone so sweet?”
After multiple reports, it has been confirmed that all the victims’ eyes were melted and burn marks were left on each of their temples.
The Sherriff’s office has been reluctant to release any other details because of the ongoing investigation, but there are other similarities.
As the case with most people during the pandemic, all the victims were regular users of delivery services. There has been speculation that all of the victims had used a delivery service within an hour of the murder.
Anthony Michaels (57) and Chris and Daisy Krueger (68 and 67) were not found for days after their murders, which makes times of death in relation to their deliveries more difficult.
There was a short-lived rumor circulating about the murders were a retaliation for bad tipping practices. Each of the delivery services debunked that theory quickly after releasing the tips of all the victims showing they all tipped well above the $5 socially accepted minimum threshold.
Each of the drivers themselves has been exonerated with use of GPS, App tracking, and eyewitnesses.
One similarity that the Sherriff’s office has refused to discuss at length is the pets. While owning pets is not unusual, the behavior of the victim’s pets after the murders are unusual.
Tom Gein (46) found the Tenenbaums last night around 7pm after noticing the family's two dogs acting strange.
Gein said, “I was taking out the trash and I saw Hooper and Chucky (the two dogs) just sitting by the curb watching their house. It’s no big deal normally, but usually someone is outside with them. I tried to coax them up to the house, but they wouldn’t budge. I tried to grab Hooper’s collar and walk him, but he yelped and became stiff.”
Gein paused for a long tyme, then went on, “That’s when I walked up to the house and found them. I hope one day I forget what I saw and what I smelt.”
Gein found the Tenenbaums in the dining room in a scene that seemed more out of a horror movie than that of a normal family in a quiet neighborhood. Glen (45) was in his chair, arms dangling off his side, and head leaning back. His wife Laurie (47) was face down on the table with her arms outstretched to either side as if reaching for her children. Both children Isaac (8) and Job (6) were on the floor as if asleep. All of them with black holes were their eyes had been. Gein described the smell as burnt cooking oil.
Rose has stated a similar story about her grandmother’s dog, Malachai. She has since said Malachai refuses to go anywhere near her grandmother’s house.
It was Michaels’ dog, Henrietta, that got the attention of his neighbor Rachel Jones(55). Jones has said that she happened to be in her back alley, something she rarely does, when she noticed Henrietta pacing back and forth behind Michaels’ house.
Jones said, “I do not know Anthony well, he has always been a very private person, but he has always waved politely when he walked her. Henrietta always seemed healthy to me, so when I saw how sickly she looked, I became concerned.”
Jones went on to say she went to knock on the Michaels’ door when she noticed it was cracked open. She announced herself but after getting no reply she cautiously walked inside.
Jones said, “It was the smell that first got my attention. The smell of decay. I walked in slowly and when I saw the figure slumped in the recliner, I immediately knew something was wrong, so I ran out the house and called 911.”
Jones said she was very grateful for not seeing Michaels too closely. Jones said, “I can’t imagine how I would feel if I saw those melted out eyes everyone has been talking about.”
The Krueger’s cat, Azrael, was found a block away and had to tranquilized by Animal Control Services, after trying to coax her towards the Krueger’s apartment.
The Kruegers lived in the Overlook Apartments in the lowlands. They were the only residents residing in East Wing on the backside of the building, so their open door went unnoticed for close to week sense their last grocery delivery.
It was not until the maintenance man, Sam Voorhees, found the elderly couple dead in their living room.
Voorhees was doing a building wide furnace check when he happened upon the Kruegers.
He said, “I knocked, and announced myself before walking in. I wish now that I would have done the West Wing and let someone else do the East Wing. The smell, oh my God that smell. And that was nothing compared to the sockets were their eyes used to be.”
Sheriff Loomis has also reported little evidence has been found on the doorbell video footages. The Tenenbaums, Baker, and Pete Torrance, all used video doorbells. But there have been rumors that all the footage has been altered or damaged.
A source has stated that in every single video of the suspect has been corrupted. This also includes neighboring camera footage, in each neighborhood.
The source said, “It’s as if the suspect used some sort of video scrambler to blot out his or her image.” When asked to describe what is there, the source said, “It looks like there was a person on film, but then someone scratched them out with a magic marker.” The source was also asked if anyone else is ever seen in the same frame as the murderer. The source confirms that 3 people have been filmed at the same time as the suspect, but during interviews no one has recalled seeing anyone by the suspects’ houses.
Sheriff Loomis has also asked that everyone be good neighbors and check on each other. He said, “I know we are trying to reduce as much contact with each other as possible due to Covid19, but we have to look after one another.”
He would go on to add, “We have had a troubled past during Halloween, but this scares me even more.”
Editor's note: Since this article was written on October 31st 6 more bodies have been discovered in Haddonfield, and we have found similar cases in at least 8 other cities in the Northwest United States.