Shelter in Place Killer
HADDONFIELD, IL — October 31, 2020
Editor's Note: As of this republication, no arrests have been made, no suspects have been identified, and authorities have provided no satisfactory explanation for the events described below.
Residents of Haddonfield are being urged to exercise extreme caution this Halloween following the discovery of nine bodies in what authorities believe may be a series of related murders.
The latest victims, the Tenenbaum family of four, were discovered Thursday evening in their home, bringing the week's death toll to nine. All nine victims were found inside their residences, and although authorities have declined to release specific details, several disturbing similarities have emerged.
Sheriff Loomis addressed the increasingly nervous community during a press conference Friday evening.
"Be vigilant and use common sense," Loomis advised. "Travel in large groups, stay in well-lit areas, make sure your doors and windows are secured, and report anyone — and I mean anyone — who looks suspicious."
When asked whether encouraging residents to report suspicious-looking individuals on Halloween might overwhelm emergency services, Loomis acknowledged the possibility.
"We expect more calls than usual."
Sheriff Loomis and Mayor Barclay reportedly considered implementing a townwide curfew beginning at dusk. However, after considerable discussion, both agreed that the children of Haddonfield had already endured enough restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Barclay, maintaining some sense of normalcy was an important consideration.
Consequently, despite nine unexplained deaths, Halloween will proceed as scheduled.
Parents throughout the community remain divided.
Some have opted to keep their children home for an evening of pizza, movies, and what one resident described as "a reasonable expectation of surviving the night." Others insist that canceling Halloween would only create more fear among children already struggling with months of pandemic restrictions.
Mike Norris, 48, plans to take his children trick-or-treating.
"The streets are the safest place out here," Norris explained. "I mean, all the bodies have been found in their homes."
Although the Sheriff's Office declined to comment on Norris's assessment of public safety, his observation is factually correct.
Every victim has been discovered indoors.
And in each case, investigators have encountered evidence they have been unable, or unwilling, to explain.
A Disturbing Discovery
The first victim discovered this week was Annie Baker, 72, whose body was found Monday morning by her granddaughter, Laurie Rose, 34.
Rose had stopped by her grandmother's home to deliver groceries and other supplies, a routine she had established during the pandemic.
Upon arriving, Rose noticed the front door standing slightly ajar.
"I figured Grandma hadn't closed it all the way after taking Malachai out," Rose said, referring to her grandmother's dog. "She was always fussing at that dog to hurry up."
Rose entered the residence and discovered her grandmother lying unresponsive on the floor.
Sheriff Loomis confirmed that Baker was pronounced dead at the scene.
Rose, visibly shaken while speaking to reporters, struggled to describe what she had witnessed.
"It was her eyes," she said. "Her eyes were the worst part of it. Why would someone do something so cruel to someone so sweet?"
Initially, authorities refused to elaborate on Rose's statement. However, information obtained from multiple sources has since confirmed that the injuries to Baker's eyes were not unique.
All nine victims suffered what investigators have reportedly described as severe thermal damage to the eyes. The eyes themselves appeared to have been melted, leaving blackened cavities. Small burn marks were also discovered on both temples of each victim.
The Sheriff's Office has declined to discuss the possible cause of these injuries.
Investigators have not disclosed whether a weapon, chemical agent, or other device might be responsible.
The absence of an explanation has done little to discourage speculation throughout Haddonfield, where theories range from a particularly sadistic serial killer to explanations considerably less grounded in conventional criminology.
The Sheriff's Office has asked residents to refrain from spreading rumors.
Thus far, the request has met with limited success.
The Tenenbaum Family
The most recent discovery occurred Thursday evening when Tom Gein, 46, noticed something unusual while taking out his garbage.
Two dogs belonging to his neighbors, the Tenenbaums, were sitting near the curb, facing their house.
The dogs, Hooper and Chucky, were familiar fixtures in the neighborhood. According to Gein, they were ordinarily friendly and seldom outside without a member of the family nearby.
"I saw Hooper and Chucky just sitting there, staring at the house," Gein recalled. "Normally, somebody's outside with them. I called to them, but neither one moved."
Gein initially assumed the dogs had escaped.
"I tried coaxing them back toward the house. They wouldn't budge. When I grabbed Hooper's collar to walk him up there, he yelped and went stiff. Like he was terrified of going any closer."
Concerned, Gein approached the residence.
The front door was partially open.
He knocked several times before entering.
What he discovered inside has left him visibly distressed.
Gein paused for a long tyme before continuing his account.
"I hope one day I forget what I saw," he said quietly. "And what I smelt."
The Tenenbaum family was found in the dining room.
Glen Tenenbaum, 45, remained seated at the table, his arms hanging loosely beside his chair and his head tilted backward.
His wife, Laurie, 47, was slumped forward across the tabletop, her arms extended toward either side, almost as though she had been reaching for her children.
Their sons, Isaac, 8, and Job, 6, were found on the floor nearby.
Gein described the children as appearing to be asleep.
Except for their eyes.
All four family members exhibited the same injuries reported in the previous deaths.
Gein also described an unusual odor throughout the residence.
"Like somebody had been burning cooking oil," he said. "Not food. Just the oil. That smell was everywhere."
Authorities have confirmed the deaths but have not released an official cause.
Hooper and Chucky were subsequently taken into the care of relatives. According to Gein, neither dog has willingly approached the Tenenbaum residence since the discovery.
While this behavior might ordinarily be attributed to the distress associated with a traumatic event, investigators have encountered similar reports involving the pets of several other victims.
And those reports may represent one of the investigation's strangest developments.
The Animals Know Something
Laurie Rose has reported that her grandmother's dog, Malachai, has also refused to return to the Baker residence.
According to Rose, the animal becomes visibly distressed whenever anyone attempts to lead him toward the property.
"He won't go near it," Rose explained. "He starts shaking before we even get to the driveway."
A similar incident led to the discovery of Anthony Michaels, 57, who lived alone in a quiet residential neighborhood.
Michaels was described by neighbors as a private man who rarely entertained visitors. His dog, Henrietta, was considerably more familiar to residents than her owner.
Rachel Jones, 55, discovered something was wrong after noticing Henrietta pacing behind Michaels' home.
"I don't really know Anthony," Jones explained. "He kept to himself. Nice enough fellow, always waved when he walked the dog. But Henrietta looked terrible. Sickly. Like she hadn't eaten in days."
Jones had been walking through the rear alley, something she said she rarely did, when she noticed the animal.
Concerned, she approached Michaels' residence.
The back door was partially open.
Jones knocked and announced herself several times before cautiously entering.
"The smell hit me first," she recalled. "It was awful. Like something had been dead in there for a while."
Jones proceeded into the living room, where she noticed a figure slumped in a recliner.
"I knew something was wrong. I didn't get close. I turned around, ran out of the house, and called 911."
Jones said she was grateful she had not approached the body.
"After hearing what happened to those people's eyes, I'm glad I didn't look any closer."
Michaels is believed to have been dead for several days before his discovery.
Henrietta, meanwhile, has reportedly recovered physically but remains reluctant to approach her former home.
The pattern continued at the Overlook Apartments, where elderly residents Chris and Daisy Krueger, 68 and 67, were discovered dead inside their apartment.
The Kruegers occupied the only residential unit in the building's East Wing, a secluded section overlooking the lowlands.
Their relative isolation, combined with pandemic restrictions, meant that the couple's absence went largely unnoticed.
Investigators believe the Kruegers may have been dead for several days, possibly close to a week.
Their cat, Azrael, was discovered approximately one block from the apartment complex.
Animal Control Services was called after attempts to retrieve the animal proved unsuccessful.
According to witnesses, Azrael became increasingly aggressive whenever anyone attempted to carry her toward the apartment building.
The animal eventually had to be tranquilized.
The Kruegers' bodies were discovered by maintenance employee Sam Voorhees during a routine building-wide furnace inspection.
Voorhees reported knocking and announcing himself before entering the apartment through an unlocked door.
"I wish I'd done the West Wing first," Voorhees said. "Maybe somebody else would've gotten around to the East Wing."
He paused before describing what he discovered.
"The smell. Oh my God, that smell. And that wasn't even the worst part."
When asked to elaborate, Voorhees shook his head.
"The sockets. Where their eyes used to be."
Authorities have not indicated whether the animals' behavior is being considered evidence in the investigation.
Sheriff Loomis has declined to comment directly on the matter.
Nevertheless, the similarities have attracted considerable attention among residents, particularly those with pets of their own.
Several local pet owners have reportedly begun paying closer attention to their animals' behavior.
One resident, who requested anonymity, stated that she now refuses to enter any room her cat will not enter first.
A Possible Connection to Delivery Services
Investigators have also examined another common factor among the victims: their reliance on home delivery services.
Like many Americans during the pandemic, all nine victims regularly used delivery applications for groceries, meals, and household necessities.
Sources familiar with the investigation suggest that several victims received deliveries shortly before their estimated times of death.
In some cases, the interval may have been less than an hour.
Establishing a precise timeline has proven difficult, particularly in the cases of Michaels and the Kruegers, whose bodies were not discovered until days after their deaths.
Authorities have reportedly interviewed delivery drivers, reviewed application records, and examined GPS tracking information.
Thus far, no delivery driver has been publicly identified as a suspect.
The investigation briefly generated a rumor that the murders were retaliation for poor tipping practices.
Representatives from several delivery services reportedly cooperated with investigators in reviewing the victims' transactions.
According to information obtained by the Chronicles, all victims had tipped generously, exceeding what one source described as the socially accepted five-dollar minimum.
The poor-tipping theory subsequently lost considerable support.
Delivery drivers associated with the victims have reportedly been cleared through combinations of GPS records, application tracking, and eyewitness accounts.
However, the possibility that the killer used delivery activity to identify victims, determine when they were home, or gain access to their residences has not been publicly ruled out.
The Sheriff's Office has declined to discuss whether any deliveries were made by individuals not affiliated with the services involved.
The Missing Person on Camera
Perhaps the most troubling evidence concerns surveillance footage obtained from the victims' homes and surrounding neighborhoods.
At least three victims' residences — those belonging to the Tenenbaums, Baker, and Pete Torrance — were equipped with video doorbells.
Torrance, whose death accounts for the ninth victim, was found earlier in the week under circumstances authorities believe are consistent with the other cases.
Investigators initially hoped the recordings would provide images of anyone approaching the homes around the estimated times of death.
Instead, the footage has reportedly raised more questions than it has answered.
According to a source familiar with the investigation, recordings from multiple independently operated cameras contain unexplained visual distortions.
These distortions appear at times when an unidentified individual is believed to have been present.
"It looks like there's a person there," the source explained, "but somebody scratched them out with a magic marker."
The source described the affected portions of the recordings as irregular black shapes that obscure what appears to be a human figure.
The surrounding images remain largely intact.
In several recordings, the distortion reportedly moves through the frame as though following the movements of an individual.
More troubling, similar anomalies have been identified on neighboring surveillance systems.
Investigators initially considered the possibility of equipment malfunction or deliberate electronic interference.
However, the same apparent distortion has reportedly appeared across cameras manufactured by different companies and operating on separate networks.
The Sheriff's Office has neither confirmed nor denied these reports.
When asked whether the recordings might have been altered, Sheriff Loomis stated only that all available evidence was being examined.
The source also revealed an additional detail.
In at least three recordings, other individuals appear within the same frame as the obscured figure.
In one instance, a person reportedly passes within several feet of the distortion.
Investigators subsequently identified and interviewed all three individuals.
None recalled seeing anyone matching the suspected figure.
"They remember being there," the source explained. "They remember where they were going. They remember what they were doing."
The source paused.
"They just don't remember the person standing next to them."
When asked whether the recordings showed any interaction between the witnesses and the unidentified figure, the source declined to elaborate.
Authorities have not released the footage publicly.
The Chingaling Chronicles has been unable to independently examine the recordings or verify the source's description.
Halloween Will Go On
Despite growing public concern, authorities continue to maintain that residents can safely participate in Halloween activities provided they exercise appropriate caution.
Sheriff Loomis has encouraged neighbors to remain vigilant and check on elderly residents, particularly those living alone.
"I know we're trying to reduce contact with one another because of COVID-19," Loomis said, "but we still have to look after each other."
He also emphasized that residents should report unusual activity immediately rather than investigate suspicious circumstances themselves.
This recommendation follows several reports of residents approaching unfamiliar vehicles, questioning delivery drivers, and confronting individuals whose Halloween costumes were considered suspicious.
The Sheriff's Office has asked the public to exercise reasonable judgment.
No additional patrol restrictions have been announced, although deputies are expected to maintain an increased presence throughout the evening.
For many Haddonfield residents, the decision to proceed with Halloween remains controversial.
Some believe the town should suspend all activities until authorities identify a suspect.
Others maintain that the murders have already disrupted enough lives and that allowing fear to dictate everyday activities would only deepen the community's distress.
For now, the streets are expected to fill with children dressed as ghosts, witches, monsters, and assorted fictional murderers.
Parents have been advised to accompany younger children, remain in groups, and avoid unfamiliar homes.
Sheriff Loomis ended Friday's press conference with an unusually somber observation.
"We've had a troubled past during Halloween," he said. "We've seen things in this town that most people wouldn't believe."
He looked down briefly before continuing.
"But this scares me even more."
When asked whether investigators believed the same individual was responsible for all nine deaths, Loomis declined to answer.
He would not say whether authorities had identified a suspect.
Nor would he comment on reports concerning the animals or the surveillance recordings.
For the families of the victims, those unanswered questions offer little comfort.
For the rest of Haddonfield, Halloween has arrived as scheduled.
The decorations are up.
The candy bowls are full.
And somewhere in town, nine homes stand empty.