S3E2: Elgin

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This podcast is based on information sourced primarily from police
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and media reports, but certain names and other identifying details
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may have been changed or altered for privacy and security reasons.
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While the events in cases discussed are based on real investigations,
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some aspects may be simplified for time and for narrative purposes.
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Voice actors have been used to read from statements or documents.
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All information presented is intended solely to inform and raise awareness.
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Hosts may discuss theories regarding the cases examined in this podcast,
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but such discussions are not intended to and should not
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be considered by the listener to be legal conclusions. All
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persons discussed are considered innocent until proven guilty in a
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court of law. Listener discretion is advised.
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This is Chief Anna Lally. Welcome to Somebody Knows Something,
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a podcast from the Elgin Police Department's Cold Case Unit.
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In this podcast, we will shed new light on cold
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cases in the city of Elgin by sharing untold details
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and by encouraging anyone with information to come forward. You
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will come along with real cold case detectives as they
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investigate active cold cases in real time and seek justice
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for the victims and closure for their families. We believe
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that the Elgin Police Department and our community can work
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together to bring closure to cold cases because we know
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that in these cases, somebody knows something.
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Hello and welcome to Somebody knows something. The Elgin Police
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Department Cold Case Podcast. My name is Detective Andrew Howden.
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And I'm Detective Chris Hall. Last episode, we broke down
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the original case report for why Tia Jones's disappearance in
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the fall of nice. We also detailed that she was
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seeking treatment at the Elgin Mental Health Center, living at
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the Douglas Hotel in downtown Elgin, and we also explained
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that there was a huge time delay for this case.
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With a huge gap in time and unlimited information from
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nineteen eighty two to nineteen eighty three, we will face
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unique challenges in this case, and we do anticipate that
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this case will take us to other cities outside of
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Elgin as we continue our search for Waitiria Jones.
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In this episode, we will start our investigation here in
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Elgin with several sites that are related to Waitia and
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her disappearance. The first location is the site of the
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Douglas Hotel, the same location where in nineteen seventy seven,
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witnesses sat in the courtyard as Casey Cow's was murdered
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in the alleyway just outside. Could this location be the
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scene of another crime five years later.
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Well, we're going to try to find out.
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The Douglas Hotel was originally a premier private hotel called
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the Fox Hotel. Built in nineteen twenty five. It contained
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one hundred and twenty five modern fireproof rooms and an
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elite dining room. It was one of two downtown hotels
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here in Elgin, and in his nineteen eighty four book
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Elgin and American History, E. C. Alft wrote that the
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Fox Hotel was the city's premier accommodation. In fact, the
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Fox Hotel predates one of Elgin's most famous buildings, the
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Elgin Tower Building, which was not built until nineteen twenty
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nine and sits just two blocks to the southwest of
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the Douglas Hotel.
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The Elgin Tower Building is one hundred and eighty six
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feet tall and has fifteen stories. In nineteen twenty nine,
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the Art Deco style building became the city's first so
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called skyscraper and housed the Home National Bank and Home
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National Savings and Trust. But the Fox hotel had been
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around for four years already it was welcoming guest to
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the industrial hub that was nineteen twenties Elgin. In the
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early nineteen hundreds, Elgin was growing. The Elgin National Watch Factory,
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located near downtown, was the largest producer of fine watches
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in the United States, and the Elgin Sweeper Corporation was
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founded when John Murphy and Elgin invented the first motorized
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street sweeper in nineteen fourteen. Other factories like the Woodroff
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and Edwards Foundry, which was the site of Guadalupe Alanus's
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murder in nineteen seventy one from Season two, also employed
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hundreds of workers, and area railways connected Elgin to major
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hubs like Galina and Chicago. In short, business was booming
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in Elgin, so hotels began to pop up to handle
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that influx of visitors into the city.
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The Fox Hotel enjoyed nearly fifty years of prosperity, but
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like many other businesses in downtown Elgin, especially after the
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Elgin National Watch Company closed in nineteen sixty five and
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the economy waned, the hotel sadly began to fall in
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hard times. By nineteen seventy five, the once elite hotel
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became housing units for the Elgin Mental Health Center, with
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the once fancy hotel rooms housing over one hundred outpatients
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for the center. Sometime in nineteen eighty two, why Tia
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Jones became one of those tenants when she moved into
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what was once called the Fox Hotel but was now
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known as the Douglas Hotel on the corner of Douglas
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and Division Streets in downtown Elgin. The US Public Records
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Index from nineteen fifty to nineteen ninety three lists Waititiia
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as a residence at the Douglas Hotel address on May first,
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nineteen eighty two, so we do know that at least
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by May of nineteen eighty two, she was living there.
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Then on October first, nineteen eighty two, the hotel closed
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its stores for good. I would add that the cover
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art for this episode is actually from January fifth, of
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nineteen eighty three, and it depicts people boarding up the property.
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An article in the Daily Courier News noted that the
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hotel closed in September and at that time housed about
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forty patients from the Elgi Mental Health Center. It sat
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vacant for a number of years until the City of
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Elgin purchased the property and converted it into forty five
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affordable housing apartments for senior citizens in nineteen ninety two.
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The exterior of the four story building looks almost identical
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to pictures we have seen from the Fox Hotel from
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the early nineteen twenties, but the interior has certainly changed
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and updated drastically, especially since nineteen eighty two when it closed.
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As listeners also know, the courtyard outside remains almost identical
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to what it looked like in crime scene sketches from
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nineteen seventy seven, when Casey Cow's was murdered there.
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Owners of the whole hotel reportedly searched the hotel just
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after it closed to ensure that all the tenants were out,
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and police also searched the property for this case, but
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that search came months after Waitia vanished. In March of
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nineteen eighty three. One of Waitiia's daughters was concerned that
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Waititiia could still be in the abandoned hotel, and the
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Elgin Police documented her call in a report. Here's the
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actual police report for that search. The report is edited
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and redacted for clarity and to protect the identity of witnesses.
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On March twenty eighth, nineteen eighty three, Youth Officer Berg
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spoke with Wyitia Jones' daughter by phone. She has no
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further information, but expressed the family's concern that Waititiia was
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laying dead and undiscovered in the abandoned Douglas Hotel building.
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Officer Berg advised her that he had spoken with who
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had inspected the building prior to it being sealed, and
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that he had indicated that was impossible. However, on March
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twenty eighth, nineteen eighty three, Youth Officer Berg and Detective
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Gonzales gained access to the hotel through the Bazos cleaner's
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entrance and thoroughly checked the building, finding nothing. Case remains active.
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We decided that even though the property is different than
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what it was in nineteen eighty two, visiting the physical
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building would be useful. We first looked to see if
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we could visit the hotel with the original owners, just
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like Andrew Matt did with PM Bentley's in Season one,
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but the original owners, Chester and June Zeema, are both deceased.
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June died in two thousand and one and Chester died
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in two thousand and eight. However, one of their sons,
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who was quoted in the original police report as saying
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that he saw Waitia around that time when the hotel closed,
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is still alive, so we reached out to him.
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That witness has since retired and moved out of state.
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While he did remember the Douglas Hotel and told us
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that he did sometimes work there in nineteen eighty two
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or nineteen eighty three, he didn't really recall anything about
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Waiteria's case. He did remember that the hotel was closed
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in nineteen eighty two and that a number of tenants
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were patients from the older mental health center, but beyond that,
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he didn't really have a lot of new information to
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provide us.
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We also asked about any old records for tenants or
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any other similar records, but as you can imagine, records
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that old do not appear to have been retained. And unfortunately,
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because he didn't recall anything about this case, he also
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could not recall what bus stop he told police he
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saw Withateria at nineteen eighty two.
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It does at least make some sense that he may
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not recall this incident. It was a random question from
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law enforcement over forty years ago for a family member
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of the owners. The fact that he didn't recall why
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Kyria's name or anything about this case is not that
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shocking to us. It would be nice to know what
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bus stop he reportedly saw her at, and anything else
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that he might remember, But we are talking about something
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that happened over forty years ago, and unfortunately we don't
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have the former owner to walk us around the building
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to see what's changed. Even so, we plan to continue
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working to see if we can track down records for
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the hotel from the nineteen eighties if they still exist,
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and we certainly are not writing out the theory that
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something could have happened to Waitia at the Douglas Hotel.
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As of the date of this recording, we have not
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been able to gather much new information about Waitteria. If
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she had a roommate she planned to go somewhere else
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when she moved out, or what she was wearing when
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she left, what bus stop she was at, or what
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type of belongings she had. So basically we're still at
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square one when it comes to her time at the
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Douglas Hotel.
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Yeah, and as we said in our last episode, that's
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one reason why we chose this case for season three.
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We desperately need information from the public to try to
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piece together more information on Waiteria's time here in Elgin,
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So if you know anyone who lived at the Douglas Hotel,
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who worked at the Douglas Hotel, who worked at the
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Elger Mental Health Center, or knew Wayteria specifically in any capacity,
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please contact us. We'd love to know more about what
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she was like, any friends she had, relationships that she had,
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and any other information about her time here in Elgin.
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Well.
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Even though we don't have the prior owner available, we
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decided that going to the actual hotel building would be
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useful for this case. So this past week, Andrew and
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I headed over to the Douglas Hotel with Detective Stairker
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to see the place where Waetiria lived while she was
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in Elgin Well.
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We came in the courtyard from where Casey Cowsbys was
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and the lobbies are pretty good area.
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Yeah, the front.
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Deska is down here too.
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I would assume this is maybe.
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Where it was in nineteen eighty two D three.
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Also, yeah, that makes the most sense. And wait, look
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at the stairway, it's all marble. They have to be
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original with the hotel from nineteen twenties, I would think,
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I know, the Fox Hotel was pretty swinky back then.
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Yeah, it was a mere hotel. Why don't we head
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up and let's take a look at the rest of
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the mob All right, so it's four total Florence, but
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the basement was kind of just an electrical room. There's
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sort of these two different wings, and all these walls
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are drywall. I mean, back in the twenties this would
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have been plaster.
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You wouldn't have had drywall back in.
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Nineteen twenty when the building was built. We don't know
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what it would have been in the eighties, but it's
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certainly been updated since then.
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Yeah, we know that the update and there's new electrical
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there's new plumbing, and the city converted completely from multiple
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hotel rooms into multi room units.
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Well I'm not very.
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Intall, but it is a little claustrophobic in here.
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The ceilings are really low as you come up the
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steps to each floor. But we don't know which room
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she was in, right, we don't even know which floor.
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I don't think.
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Yeah, it's right.
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Hopefully we can get more records as we keep looking
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into this, but it would be nice to know which
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floor she was actually on, and it's pretty important.
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If she had a roommate too. We don't even know
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if she was by herself.
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It definitely is a pretty interesting old building, though you
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can see small things like the stairway that really show
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the age and how old this building really is.
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Yeah, if you look out the front door, I mean
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we came in through the courtyard, but when you come
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out onto Division Street, you're basically writing downtown here. So
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there had to be a bus stop nearby. Yeah, I
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would say it's pretty critical.
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We definitely need to know where the bus stops were.
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Hopefully we can find some more riders on there, but
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at least we have to see the building a bit.
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I know it's different than it both back then, but
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I'll keep working on getting some more information about the building.
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But I'm glad we're able to at least come see it.
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Beth will continue to help gather records and information about
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the building itself, and as we laid out in episode one,
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one theory is that something could have happened to Whiteria
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at the hotel, or maybe she never even left the property,
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but ownership and police did do a thorough search, and
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we have at least one witness who claims that he
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saw Waiteria.
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At a bus stop.
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Well, it's possible that something happened at the hotel or
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here in Elgin. So far we don't have evidence of that,
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and we feel pretty confident that her remains were not
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concealed in the wall, or the basement or some other
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area of the actual building. Like you said, Chris, in
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nineteen eighty two, the city didn't just throw up some
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new paint on the walls of this hotel. They completely
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gutted the interior and renovated. So it's much less likely
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that some concealed remains would be in the hotel, and
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if they were, it seems more likely that they would
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have been located during a extensive renovations.
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Very true, I had mentioned that it was rehabbed when
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we were out there, but listeners should know that the
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property was converted from the one hundred and twenty five
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total hotel rooms into forty five apartments with new electric,
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plumbing and other updates. So it does seem unlikely that
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some concealed remains would be missed. And the hotel was
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close to the main bus stops and train station, so
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let's consider those options. We continue our investigation here in
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downtown Elgin.
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We traveled over to the Douglas Hotel, but because a
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worker from the hotel told police in nineteen eighty three
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that he last saw Waiteria at a nearby bus stop,
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we started doing research on the bus stops and the
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bus station in town. Currently, the main bus terminal on
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Highland Avenue is the main bus hub for downtown Elgin,
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but during a recent visit to the Algin History Museum,
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we learned that bus terminal did not open until nineteen
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eighty five, so Waiteria clearly did not walk there.
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We even looked into the weather for the last week
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of September and the first week of Octave as well.
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He was cool all week, with a light drizzle or
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rain almost every day from Monday September twenty seventh through
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Monday October fourth. The day that the owner thought he
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saw Wayitiia was on or about October first, which was
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also a Friday, but we can't be certain that it
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was exactly October first. We only know that that day
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was the day that the tenants had to be out
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of the building.
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If Waityria was waiting for a bus near the Douglas Hotel.
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We also learned from the Elgin History Museum that there
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00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:34.200
was a bus stop at nine North Grove Avenue, which
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00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:36.159
is near the Elgin Tower Building and just about a
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00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:38.759
block from the hotel, so it's possible that she could
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have walked just down the street to top a bus.
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We also reached out to Beth's dad, who was a
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00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:46.080
retired lieutenant from the Algerin Police Department. He confirmed that
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the bus stop was on Grove. He said that the
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buses would drive south on Grove and pick up passengers,
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then turn east onto Chicago Street. That the buses would
300
00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:57.919
also come north on Grove and turned west onto Highland Avenue.
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00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:00.559
Both streets are still one way streets, so that's how
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00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:02.799
the downtown bus traffic was laid out back in the
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nineteen eighties. We should also note that the train lines
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were just across the river as well, just a few
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blocks from the hotel, so we will need to consider
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train travel as a viable option as you work through
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this case.
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Yeah, I agree.
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I think that if she was seen outside and was
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actually at a bus stop or heading to a bus
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stop and had luggage with her, she likely planned to
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00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:27.240
travel somewhere, possibly home or a Joliette based on witness statements,
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or maybe she had some other place in.
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Mind if she did leave Elgin.
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00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:34.440
But there's one more place in town that we want
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00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:36.399
to describe in this episode before we move on to
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00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:39.639
other cities, because Waiteria did receive care from a facility
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00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:42.440
while here in town. That location is called the Elgin
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00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:43.320
Mental Health Center.
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00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:55.519
The Elgin Mental Health Center began as the Elgin State
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00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:59.240
Hospital and the Northern Illinois Hospital, an asylum for the insane.
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00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.360
The state of Illinois broke ground along what is now
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called Illinois Route thirty one, just south of what is
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now Illinois Route twenty in eighteen seventy and opened the
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first portions of that facility in eighteen seventy two. The
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building finally was completed in eighteen seventy four.
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00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:18.639
The son of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church
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00:16:18.679 --> 00:16:21.159
of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, was committed there
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in eighteen seventy seven, and he actually died there in
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nineteen oh four. Also in nineteen forty five, a man
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00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:29.960
named Emmanuel Bronner, the founder of an organic soap company
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00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:33.159
called Doctor Bronner's Magic Soaps was arrested and committed to
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00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:36.000
the hospital while speaking at the University of Chicago. He
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00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:39.519
reportedly received shock treatments, but later escaped and fled to California.
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There's all sorts of odd and interesting history around Elgin
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00:16:42.360 --> 00:16:44.360
if you know where to look, and the Elgin Mental
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00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:47.000
Health Center is no exception to that much.
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00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:49.919
The original hospital is gone, but the Elgin Mental Health
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00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:54.159
Center still operates today, mostly housing forensic patients who have
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00:16:54.240 --> 00:16:57.519
been deemed unfit to stand trial and order committed to
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00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:01.200
the state. This facility is where White came for treatment
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00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:05.160
in nineteen eighty two, also receiving outpatient care and ultimately
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moving into the Douglas Hotel. So basically, the Elgin Mental
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Health Center is the only reason she ended up in
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Elgin and the only reason she is now a missing
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00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:17.400
person on our caseload. If it didn't exist, why Tia
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00:17:17.559 --> 00:17:20.000
probably would never have come to Elgin in the first place.
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So we decided to drive up to the facility just
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to see the place that brought Wateria to Elgin.
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Thin can go straight.
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It's in that little book, one of the books I
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was looking at it. It was called like the Northern
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Illinois Hospital for the Insane.
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I think is what it was titled.
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Such.
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Yeah, back in like eighteen seventy.
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I think that's the first time I've seen that good
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jam person.
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Now what I mean, that's the first time I've seen
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that building in person. I mean, ye had a big
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00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:54.359
circle tower.
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00:17:55.319 --> 00:17:57.079
I think I read that the people that built Urina
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Towers also designed that building. See wonder that big like
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theater that we saw that the history museum is still
365
00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:08.960
out here.
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00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:10.200
If they twit that building down.
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I thought one of them said it caught on fire.
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I don't know if that was the one or not.
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00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:17.880
That the smokestacks. I mean, this place was its own city.
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00:18:19.400 --> 00:18:20.720
I read it was like a hundred I want to
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00:18:20.759 --> 00:18:22.240
see one hundred and fifty acres.
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Yeah, that's crazy.
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Maybe I'm writing the wrong thing, but.
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It's like it's own little towns.
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Some cottages in the back end.
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There used to be other buildings out here too that
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00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:36.960
are obviously gone.
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00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:40.400
Yeah, a lot of these have been closed.
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00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:43.400
It seems like I know we're still waiting on records
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00:18:43.400 --> 00:18:47.359
from the mental Health center, but it seems like maybe
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she got carre out here first and then was moved
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00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:51.640
over to the Douglas hotel, or maybe she was just
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in the Douglas Hotel the entire time. It's hard to
384
00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:54.680
tell until we get I.
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Would guess she was getting dreaming here initially. Right, Well,
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00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:00.480
like my day I was saying that, like once they
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00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:06.880
started releasing people out into back into mainstream society, society,
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00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:09.759
they didn't have a place to sa she's But I
389
00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:11.680
would guess she's probably still getting some sort of treatment,
390
00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:14.519
right or right she would have moved back to rural
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00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:15.240
you would think.
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00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:18.319
Yeah, she was getting the Fox Value Mental Health Center treatment.
393
00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:21.279
But hopefully we'll get those records soon.
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00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:23.640
They'll be able to tell us how long she was
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00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:27.240
here and if she was physically out here before she
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00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:28.200
was moved.
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00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:31.720
It's just taking a long time to get those kind
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00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:32.519
of records.
399
00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:39.799
Yeah, it's an interesting little building.
400
00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:42.559
Yeah, it's definitely an interesting property.
401
00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:47.319
Yeah, definitely, see it's seen better years.
402
00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:51.160
You got the old Circle Circle building. Yeah, with that
403
00:19:51.559 --> 00:19:56.880
sounds like a it looks kind of like it's abandoned
404
00:19:56.920 --> 00:20:00.240
at this point. Yeah, it's a defense around. It looks like, Yeah,
405
00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:02.519
they talked about tearing it down. I'd seen an article
406
00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:04.880
about there, talking about tearing it out. But it's such
407
00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:06.400
a unique bear.
408
00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:08.400
Yeah, that's act.
409
00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:10.799
I know that.
410
00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:13.680
Last season we discussed the murder of Lori Jean Bulger
411
00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:16.680
in the summer of nineteen seventy six, and during that
412
00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:20.359
episode we also detailed that William Riinbold, a suspect in
413
00:20:20.400 --> 00:20:23.720
her murder, was arrested in nineteen seventy after he attacked
414
00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:26.400
a nurse Anne Ward, who was walking back to the
415
00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:30.000
Elga Mental Health Center property. Ryinbold had followed her from
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00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:32.640
downtown Elgin to the edge of the property. As she
417
00:20:32.720 --> 00:20:35.400
walked near a small footbridge, he hid her from behind
418
00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:38.240
and dragged her into a culvert under Illinois Route thirty one,
419
00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:41.160
where he stabbed her forty five times with a two
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00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:45.240
inch pocket knife. Anne Ward survived and William Riinbold was
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00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:50.079
sentenced to ten years in prison for that attempted murder case. Unfortunately,
422
00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:52.799
Ann's attack in nineteen seventy was not the last case
423
00:20:52.839 --> 00:20:55.119
that happened at the Elger Mental Health Center through the
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00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:58.759
nineteen seventies and nineteen eighties. In fact, there have been
425
00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:02.119
four murders on the property, and one of those murders
426
00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:06.599
was in nineteen eighty two, just four months before Waititiria disappeared.
427
00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:12.599
As Chris said there were four murders at the Ulti
428
00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:16.119
Mental Health Center in the years before and after Waityia's disappearance.
429
00:21:16.920 --> 00:21:19.640
To be exact, those forur murders occurred between nineteen seventy
430
00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:22.799
six and nineteen eighty eight. Chris and I thought we
431
00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:25.160
would briefly touch on each one as we remember the
432
00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:29.000
victims in those cases and as we continue investigating Whityria's case.
433
00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:32.039
The first of the fore murders at the ult Mental
434
00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:34.799
Health Center occurred on July twenty eighth, nineteen seventy six,
435
00:21:35.640 --> 00:21:38.799
at seven twenty five am, Elgin Police detectives responded to
436
00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:41.920
the Elder Mental Health Center for a death investigation. Coincidentally,
437
00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:43.839
the lead detective for that case was actually the same
438
00:21:43.880 --> 00:21:46.960
detective who handled Lori Bulger's case months earlier and also
439
00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:49.240
later worked Rene Tovar's case in nineteen seventy nine.
440
00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:51.240
His name was Detective Gary Shaver.
441
00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:54.920
Detective Shaver responded to the death of fifty eight year
442
00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:59.119
old Arnie Swanson, a patronette Whitehall Cottage on the property,
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00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:01.519
who had been found by staff in his bed deceased.
444
00:22:02.119 --> 00:22:03.480
There was fresh blood.
445
00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:06.079
Present on his pillow, and by that afternoon, the Kinge
446
00:22:06.119 --> 00:22:08.960
County coroner's office had conducted an autopsy for the case.
447
00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:12.240
The coroner's office quickly determined that the cause of death
448
00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:15.200
was asphyxiation and that the manner of death was certainly
449
00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:18.920
not self inflicted. They ruled the case of homicide. As
450
00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:21.960
police investigated, they determined that a witness had seen another
451
00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:24.680
resident running into a bathroom from the direction of the
452
00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:28.400
victim's bedroom, so they interviewed that man, Jerry Hester, to
453
00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:31.960
determine if he was involved or witnessed the homicide. Here's
454
00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:33.759
what the actual police report says.
455
00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:39.680
Approximately forty five minutes after the interview began, Hester advised
456
00:22:39.720 --> 00:22:43.720
that he was going to tell what really happened, but quote,
457
00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:47.079
he was not Jerry. He was just a man in
458
00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:50.960
Jerry's body, and Jerry had done the worst wrong. He
459
00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:55.720
had killed a white man end quote. Detective Shaver asked
460
00:22:55.799 --> 00:22:58.759
Jerry Hester what he meant by this statement, and at
461
00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:01.880
this time he replied to the effect that Jerry had
462
00:23:01.960 --> 00:23:03.319
killed his friend Arnie.
463
00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:06.279
Jerry Hester went on to say that he both strangled
464
00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:09.039
and suffocated Arnie Swanson with a rope and a pillow.
465
00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:12.920
Although these statements were never used in any prosecution. Jerry
466
00:23:12.920 --> 00:23:15.240
Hester was later sent to the Chester, Illinois Mental Health
467
00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:18.480
Facility and deemed unfit to stand trial for murder. As
468
00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:20.920
far as we can tell based on those records, he
469
00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:21.799
was never released.
470
00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:25.720
A second murder occurred at the facility on November twenty second,
471
00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:29.039
nineteen seventy seven, the same day as Wayteria in Wayman's
472
00:23:29.079 --> 00:23:32.440
wedding anniversary. That homicide occurred in a bathroom at the
473
00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:36.079
Elgin Mental Health Center. The victim, like Arnie Swatson, was
474
00:23:36.119 --> 00:23:38.400
another name we read in season two when we read
475
00:23:38.440 --> 00:23:41.400
all the homicide victims from the nineteen seventies, and his
476
00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:42.400
name was Robert k.
477
00:23:43.559 --> 00:23:46.359
The case report for that investigation documented that the offender,
478
00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:49.880
James D. Tedford, had attempted to push both Robert Kay's
479
00:23:49.880 --> 00:23:52.319
head and another patient's head into a toilet the prior day,
480
00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:55.400
on November twenty first, staff had separated him from those
481
00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:58.759
victims and he had been reprimanded. However, on November twenty second,
482
00:23:59.000 --> 00:24:01.519
staff found Robert Kay with his head in the washroom's toilet,
483
00:24:01.559 --> 00:24:04.200
and they observed Tedford in the bathroom as well. Robert
484
00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:06.119
Kay was unconscious and not breathing.
485
00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:09.960
Tedford later admitted that I did it to the man,
486
00:24:10.119 --> 00:24:13.079
and I'm sorry and advised that he killed Kay in
487
00:24:13.119 --> 00:24:16.440
the bathroom. He was charged with murder and transferred to
488
00:24:16.440 --> 00:24:20.440
the Maximum Security Center in Chester, Illinois, just like Jerry Hester.
489
00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:25.039
On February twenty first, nineteen eighty James D. Tedford was
490
00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:28.039
found not guilty by reason of insanity and was also
491
00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:30.640
committed to the Department of Mental Health for the remainder
492
00:24:30.680 --> 00:24:31.319
of his life.
493
00:24:35.799 --> 00:24:37.720
As Chris said, we read both the names of Arnie
494
00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:40.920
Swanson and Robert Kay in our final episode of season two,
495
00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:42.839
but now our listeners have a little bit more information
496
00:24:42.920 --> 00:24:46.599
about those nineteen seventies homicides. However, there are a total
497
00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:49.039
of four murders on the property in our closed homicide
498
00:24:49.119 --> 00:24:51.920
case files, and the next one happened just four months
499
00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:53.599
for why Tia disappeared.
500
00:25:08.759 --> 00:25:12.039
At two thirteen pm on May twenty fifth, nineteen eighty two,
501
00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:15.240
fifty four year old Robert Lee Anderson was in the
502
00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:18.279
day room at the Killborn Building on the Elga Mental
503
00:25:18.279 --> 00:25:23.640
Health Center grounds. Another temporary patient, Thomas Lee McNeil, began
504
00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:26.960
arguing with Robert before grabbing a wooden chair and beating
505
00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:30.599
Robert with it as other witnesses looked on. Robert then
506
00:25:30.640 --> 00:25:33.519
fell to the floor had a seizure and later died
507
00:25:33.640 --> 00:25:34.480
from his injuries.
508
00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:37.440
McNeil later admitted that earlier in the day, he and
509
00:25:37.480 --> 00:25:39.400
Robert had an argument and that they had gotten into
510
00:25:39.400 --> 00:25:42.559
a physical fight. Staff separated them and put McNeil in
511
00:25:42.599 --> 00:25:44.960
the timeout room. As he stooed in the room, McNeil
512
00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:47.160
told the police that he was saying to himself, I'm
513
00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:48.440
going to try to kill him when I come out
514
00:25:48.480 --> 00:25:51.039
of the time, and when McNeil was released, he did
515
00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:51.319
just that.
516
00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:54.640
McNeil left the timeout room, walked over to the day room,
517
00:25:54.839 --> 00:25:57.359
grabbed the chair, and when Robert told him, don't hit
518
00:25:57.359 --> 00:25:59.279
me with that chair and he looked out the door,
519
00:25:59.599 --> 00:26:02.079
McNeil struck him hard in the back and head with
520
00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:04.920
the chair. McNeil later admitted that it was his intent
521
00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:07.880
to kill Robert, and he stated I attacked him with it.
522
00:26:08.119 --> 00:26:10.960
Thomas McNeil was charged with three counts of murder, but
523
00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:13.119
in nineteen eighty three he was found not guilty by
524
00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:15.680
reason of insanity. He, like the prior to offenders from
525
00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:18.000
the nineteen seventies, was committed to the Illinois Department of
526
00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:19.680
Mental Health for the remainder of his life.
527
00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:30.880
Robert Anderson was not the last thomicide victim at the property.
528
00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:34.519
One more victim was killed there on December one, nineteen
529
00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:38.279
eighty eight. Leleroy Porter, a thirty five year old black
530
00:26:38.319 --> 00:26:41.160
man who was receiving treatment at the facility, had gotten
531
00:26:41.160 --> 00:26:44.640
into an argument with another patient, Denver Hampton, over some
532
00:26:44.720 --> 00:26:48.440
clothing that Leroy was wearing. Hampton accused Leroy of stealing
533
00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:51.000
the clothing and began hitting him before strangling him with
534
00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:51.440
the belt.
535
00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:54.200
Denver Hampton was charged in that case, but like the
536
00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:57.559
other three murders, he was never convicted. Rather, Denver Hampton
537
00:26:57.680 --> 00:26:59.759
was also transferred to the custody of the Illinois Department
538
00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:00.160
of Health.
539
00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:03.119
We know why Teria had some connections to the Elgin
540
00:27:03.160 --> 00:27:05.519
Mental Health Center, and we are still waiting on those
541
00:27:05.519 --> 00:27:08.440
records to determine if she was ever actually housed there
542
00:27:08.680 --> 00:27:11.119
or had any contact with any of the people involved
543
00:27:11.319 --> 00:27:14.400
in any of those cases. While there are no connections
544
00:27:14.440 --> 00:27:17.599
between her and those specific cases, Andrew and I wanted
545
00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:20.240
to highlight and remember those victims as well as we
546
00:27:20.359 --> 00:27:23.440
worked on this season. We both feel that it's important
547
00:27:23.480 --> 00:27:25.799
to get an idea of the history of the facility
548
00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:28.559
and remember the four victims who are listed in our
549
00:27:28.599 --> 00:27:32.400
homicide files. Arnie Swanson was a fifty eight year old
550
00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:35.440
patient when he was murdered, and Robert k was sixty three.
551
00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:38.799
Both were murdered here in Elgin in the nineteen seventies.
552
00:27:39.799 --> 00:27:43.319
Robert Anderson was fifty four and Leroy Porter was only
553
00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:45.640
thirty five years old when they were both also found
554
00:27:45.720 --> 00:27:49.799
murdered here in Elgin. Four men, four mental health patients,
555
00:27:50.039 --> 00:27:51.240
and four murder victims.
556
00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:54.920
The four victims in all these cases were patients at
557
00:27:54.920 --> 00:27:56.839
a facility where they were supposed to be getting mental
558
00:27:56.880 --> 00:27:59.359
health care and they were killed there by other patients.
559
00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:02.440
It really highlights the issues with the history of both
560
00:28:02.480 --> 00:28:04.559
mental health and mental health care here in our state
561
00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:08.200
when you read Lee Reporter's case. For example, Leroy was
562
00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:10.920
reportedly your average six year old child when he started school,
563
00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:13.119
but when he was about seven years old, his aunt
564
00:28:13.119 --> 00:28:15.480
allegedly caught him stealing money out of her purse and
565
00:28:15.519 --> 00:28:17.200
she beat him so severely in the head with a
566
00:28:17.240 --> 00:28:20.279
cane that it caused brain damage. Lero was moved from
567
00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:23.000
his general education classroom at school to a special education
568
00:28:23.079 --> 00:28:26.440
classroom and showed little to no improvement after his injury.
569
00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:28.880
He slipped into a life of petty crime, shoplifting and
570
00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:31.480
the like, and then in his teenage years began abusing
571
00:28:31.480 --> 00:28:34.039
alcohol and drugs. He dropped out of school in the
572
00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:36.440
ninth grade and never held a job before bouncing around
573
00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:38.920
in and out of the criminal justice system. He then
574
00:28:38.960 --> 00:28:41.079
spent time at the Audi Youth Home as a juvenile,
575
00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:43.519
then the Chester Mental Health Center from nineteen seventy nine
576
00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:45.759
to nineteen eighty three, and was finally sent to the
577
00:28:45.799 --> 00:28:48.440
Ultimntal Health Center in nineteen eighty five, where he remained
578
00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:50.000
until his murder in nineteen eighty eight.
579
00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:55.640
Today, mental health care for people like Arnie Swanson, Robert Kay,
580
00:28:55.960 --> 00:28:59.720
Robert Anderson, and Leroy Porter is different, but it's still
581
00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:02.599
not perfect. Many clinics around the state closed in the
582
00:29:02.599 --> 00:29:05.559
two thousands, but we do have resources here in Elgin.
583
00:29:05.720 --> 00:29:08.160
Here at the Elgin Police Department, we've become a national
584
00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:11.000
model for policing when it comes to mental health. We
585
00:29:11.079 --> 00:29:14.400
use specially trained officers on our Emergency Services Detail to
586
00:29:14.440 --> 00:29:17.640
respond to people in mental health crisis, along with trained
587
00:29:17.680 --> 00:29:20.599
social workers who respond as well to the scene with us.
588
00:29:21.079 --> 00:29:23.720
I myself spent time working in ESD before it became
589
00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:26.000
a detective, so I know the work they do on
590
00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:28.960
a daily basis. We are leading the charge to change
591
00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:31.880
how police deal with people in crisis. We also use
592
00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:35.039
crisis negotiators with our SWAT team and partner with area
593
00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:36.640
mental health facilities as well.
594
00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:41.319
The Elgin Police Department also created the Collaborative Crisis Services
595
00:29:41.400 --> 00:29:44.240
Unit to coordinate with our homeless population and with people
596
00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:46.759
suffering from mental illness and to help earing.
597
00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:48.680
Services like ESD.
598
00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:52.920
CCSU uses a coresponse model which pairs police officers with
599
00:29:52.960 --> 00:29:56.920
mental health professionals. CCSU conducts followup visits for individuals who
600
00:29:56.920 --> 00:30:00.079
could benefit from mental health or behavioral health services and
601
00:30:00.119 --> 00:30:03.440
the utilized community resources, including our own social services unit,
602
00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:05.440
to connect those individuals with services.
603
00:30:05.799 --> 00:30:07.119
The goal is simple to.
604
00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:09.519
Reduce patrol calls for service for those people and to
605
00:30:09.559 --> 00:30:12.359
help them get the care that they need. CCSU has
606
00:30:12.400 --> 00:30:16.400
three primary areas of focus Mental and behavioral health, substance
607
00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:19.079
use disorder services, and homelessness issues.
608
00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:22.480
Many people have come to Elgin to receive care from
609
00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:25.319
mental health, and the Elgin Mental Health Center has been
610
00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:27.519
here in Elgin for over one hundred and fifty years.
611
00:30:28.319 --> 00:30:30.480
But we'd like to think that if Waytyia had moved
612
00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:33.200
to Elgin today rather on nineteen eighty two, she would
613
00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:36.799
have received many more services, including assistance with moving her
614
00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:41.079
to a new location when the Douglas Hotel closed. Unfortunately,
615
00:30:41.240 --> 00:30:43.319
a lot of those services that we now have just
616
00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:46.519
didn't exist in nineteen eighty two for Wayitiia, which is
617
00:30:46.599 --> 00:30:49.079
tragic and the lack of those services might be a
618
00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:50.640
part of the reason she disappeared.
619
00:31:01.119 --> 00:31:03.480
Well, we've taken our listeners back to the Douglas Hotel.
620
00:31:03.920 --> 00:31:06.480
We've walked around downtown Elgin where Wateria likely would have
621
00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:08.559
walked if she had gone to a bus stop. We've
622
00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:11.319
identified a potential bus stop, and we've taken a trip
623
00:31:11.400 --> 00:31:13.680
up to the Elge Mental Health Center, which provided her services.
624
00:31:14.240 --> 00:31:16.400
We've tried to cover the grounds that Waiteria covered in
625
00:31:16.440 --> 00:31:18.759
her brief time here in Elgin. And while it's possible
626
00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:21.240
if something happened here in Elgin, it's also possible that
627
00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:22.000
she did leave town.
628
00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:22.680
I know.
629
00:31:22.759 --> 00:31:24.519
Our second theory that we laid out in our first
630
00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:27.599
episode was that something happened here in Elgin. So far,
631
00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:29.680
we haven't found any evidence of that, but we will
632
00:31:29.680 --> 00:31:31.119
continue looking at that as an option.
633
00:31:31.920 --> 00:31:34.599
Yes we will, and as we wrap up this episode,
634
00:31:34.599 --> 00:31:37.799
we also wanted to address Wateria's mental health and briefly
635
00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:40.920
discuss theory number one, and that is that she simply
636
00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:45.480
left voluntarily or harmed herself. As we said in episode one,
637
00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:48.200
her sole source of income was her state benefits, and
638
00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:50.359
it doesn't seem likely that she would have left without
639
00:31:50.359 --> 00:31:53.079
reaching out to her children. So could she have harmed
640
00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:56.160
herself in some way? It certainly is possible, but it's
641
00:31:56.200 --> 00:31:58.119
hard to really say that very confidently.
642
00:31:58.920 --> 00:32:01.319
Yeah, it's definitely a possible, and like you said, we
643
00:32:01.359 --> 00:32:03.440
can't say it for certain Part of the problem is
644
00:32:03.480 --> 00:32:06.359
we don't know what Lewaitteriria's exact mental health concerns were
645
00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:08.799
in nineteen eighty two. Betha is helping us still try
646
00:32:08.839 --> 00:32:10.680
to get some of those records from the state of Illinois,
647
00:32:11.039 --> 00:32:13.039
and we're attempting to speak with counselors and people that
648
00:32:13.119 --> 00:32:15.519
knew her in nineteen eighty two, But so far we're
649
00:32:15.559 --> 00:32:17.759
still waiting on those records, and we're still searching for
650
00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:19.599
more people to interview that would have known her during
651
00:32:19.599 --> 00:32:20.480
her time here in Elgin.
652
00:32:21.319 --> 00:32:23.640
It is difficult to get access to mental health records,
653
00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:26.960
and we are currently going through that process. But HIPPA
654
00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:28.599
is something that we have to contend with when it
655
00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:31.160
comes to records such as that. We are still in
656
00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:33.599
that process trying to get access to records for her
657
00:32:33.640 --> 00:32:36.880
benefits and the services that she was getting, but it
658
00:32:36.920 --> 00:32:39.440
is taking time and tracking down some of the people
659
00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:41.960
who worked with her specifically would be extremely helpful.
660
00:32:42.759 --> 00:32:45.559
Yeah, for sure, And even now there's exceptions to HIPPOP.
661
00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:48.400
One of those major exceptions would allow mental health professionals
662
00:32:48.440 --> 00:32:50.839
to release information about a person if they felt that
663
00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:52.720
the person was a threat to themselves or to others.
664
00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:56.759
For example, if the person is suicidal or homicidal, police
665
00:32:56.759 --> 00:32:59.519
can be notified about that information. I have to say
666
00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:02.279
and waiteriri case. Her counselor that spoke to police did
667
00:33:02.279 --> 00:33:05.400
not mention anything about her being suicidal or homicidal, So
668
00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:07.720
we feel that that information would have likely been provided
669
00:33:07.720 --> 00:33:09.920
to police if she had mental health concerns that were
670
00:33:09.920 --> 00:33:13.839
that drastic, Plus she was apparently outpatient not inpatient at
671
00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:16.400
the mental health center. If she had made suicidal threats
672
00:33:16.519 --> 00:33:18.680
or was somehow a threat to herself in that capacity,
673
00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:21.440
it's likely that the service provider would have taken steps
674
00:33:21.480 --> 00:33:23.400
to protect her and put her in the elder mental
675
00:33:23.440 --> 00:33:25.920
health center. As opposed to being out, and it's likely
676
00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:28.079
that that information also would have been told to police,
677
00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:30.599
but again we can't say for sure until we have
678
00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:31.559
the records.
679
00:33:32.039 --> 00:33:35.359
Yes, I would agree if Waitiria was suicidal, it should
680
00:33:35.400 --> 00:33:37.480
be included in the information that we have in the
681
00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:40.720
original reports. And where would she go to harm herself?
682
00:33:40.759 --> 00:33:42.880
Why would she still be missing over forty years later?
683
00:33:43.599 --> 00:33:46.839
It seems fairly unlikely. As you said, we can't ever
684
00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:49.359
take an option one hundred percent off the table, but
685
00:33:49.440 --> 00:33:52.799
the idea that she was suicidal while seeking treatment seems
686
00:33:52.960 --> 00:33:56.160
highly unlikely. Hopefully we were able to get more records
687
00:33:56.160 --> 00:33:58.119
and track down more people who knew her in nineteen
688
00:33:58.119 --> 00:34:00.680
eighty two to get a better idea for state of mind,
689
00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:02.920
But for now, we at least feel that the idea
690
00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:06.559
that she left voluntarily without telling her children and without
691
00:34:06.680 --> 00:34:10.360
arranging to continue receiving her state benefits isn't so likely
692
00:34:10.480 --> 00:34:11.920
as other theories for this case.
693
00:34:12.639 --> 00:34:13.960
Similarly, the idea.
694
00:34:13.719 --> 00:34:17.159
That she harmed herself also seems less likely than other options,
695
00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:19.360
at least at this point in the investigation.
696
00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:26.119
Well, we have covered theory one and theory number two
697
00:34:26.119 --> 00:34:28.599
in this episode. Both Chris and I feel that theory
698
00:34:28.679 --> 00:34:31.719
number one that Waiteria simply voluntarily left or harmed herself
699
00:34:31.719 --> 00:34:34.760
in some way is fairly unlikely, but without additional records
700
00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:38.079
and evidence, we can't write that off entirely. Similarly, we
701
00:34:38.119 --> 00:34:40.559
haven't found any evidence to support that someone harmed her
702
00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:43.239
here in Elgin, and we feel fairly certain that her
703
00:34:43.239 --> 00:34:46.280
remains are not located within the old hotel site. But again,
704
00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:48.880
we need more information from the public and more records
705
00:34:48.960 --> 00:34:51.559
to try to piece together who she associated with an Elgin,
706
00:34:51.960 --> 00:34:54.079
who she lived with at the hotel, and what her
707
00:34:54.079 --> 00:34:56.440
life was really like when she lived here. Without that
708
00:34:56.480 --> 00:35:00.280
background information, we certainly can't rely out anything include that
709
00:35:00.320 --> 00:35:01.679
something happened here in Elgin.
710
00:35:02.639 --> 00:35:05.719
Yes, so again, if you have any information about why
711
00:35:05.800 --> 00:35:10.280
Tia Jones, please contact us. Background on her time here
712
00:35:10.280 --> 00:35:14.159
in Elgin, her hobbies, friends, her social activities, those all
713
00:35:14.159 --> 00:35:16.880
help us understand more about her, and they could potentially
714
00:35:16.920 --> 00:35:19.599
help us identify new witnesses to interview and new places
715
00:35:19.679 --> 00:35:22.960
to investigate. If you wish to remain anonymous, we can
716
00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:25.000
work with that, but we really do need people to
717
00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:28.079
help us in this public space. No tip is too small.
718
00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:33.280
This episode, we explored options for Wateria here in Elgin,
719
00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:35.760
and while we will continue to gather at records and
720
00:35:35.760 --> 00:35:38.079
information about our time here. It is still possible that
721
00:35:38.119 --> 00:35:41.000
something happened to Waityia in Elgin. Our investigation is about
722
00:35:41.039 --> 00:35:43.199
to take us, however, to other places that she might
723
00:35:43.199 --> 00:35:46.000
have traveled. Next episode, we will travel to Joliet, Illinois
724
00:35:46.079 --> 00:35:48.559
as we continue our search for answers in Wateryia's case.
725
00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:50.800
We will work to identify it and visit the hotel
726
00:35:50.920 --> 00:35:53.199
where one witness claims she planned to move, and we
727
00:35:53.239 --> 00:35:55.440
will seek out similar missing person cases that could be
728
00:35:55.480 --> 00:35:58.000
related to her disappearance. So please join us next time
729
00:35:58.039 --> 00:36:00.320
as we continue our search for Waitia Jones here.
730
00:36:00.679 --> 00:36:02.000
Let somebody know something.
731
00:36:09.159 --> 00:36:11.960
If you, or anyone you know has information about this
732
00:36:12.119 --> 00:36:15.800
case or any other cold case in Elgin, please contact
733
00:36:15.800 --> 00:36:20.800
the Elgin Police Department Cold Case email at Coldcase tips
734
00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:25.239
at elginil dot gov or the cold Case tip line
735
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at eight four seven two eight nine cold. You can
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also review cold case information on the Elgin Police Department's
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coldcase page at www dot elgincoldcases dot com, where every
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cold case, homicide, and missingperson's case is listed with photographs
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and information about each case,