Hi Park enthusiasts, I'm your host Delia Diambra, and the case I'm going to tell you about today is one of those obscure stories that many of you have probably never heard of.

I first learned about it after reading my friend Laura Norton's non-fiction novel

Lay Them to Rest which came out in October 2023. If you haven't gotten a copy

yet I highly recommend you go out and grab one. It's fantastic. And you should also

check out Laura's podcast, The Fall Line. It's also fantastic. Though her book

only briefly touched on the case I'm going to discuss today, I knew when I read it that

I had to do an episode of Park Predators about it.

It's a story of betrayal, incomprehensible violence in a beautiful recreation space,

and a victim who went far too long, unidentified,

before justice was finally served.

The events that unfolded at a picnic area

along Lake Lou Yeager in Litchfield, Illinois in May 1993

are difficult to talk about. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Some of the descriptions in this story

are graphic.

I also want to mention that another great resource I used as source material for this episode

was author William Stages' book titled, Litchfield, A Strange and Twisted Saga of Murder in the Midwest, which was initially

published in 1998.

You can still order copies online, which is what I did.

The stark contrast between the brutality of this crime and the fact that the area where it happened is one of the most picturesque recreation areas in Illinois is truly chilling.

Lake Lou Yeager is roughly 1,300 acres and is heralded as a popular fishing hole in boating area that offers

several spots for visitors to camp, picnic, and explore.

All year long you can fish in boat there and if you're

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