MURDER
CASE #: 1976-23
Lori Jean Bolger
Status:
Open
Date of Offense:
Date of Offense:
Jurisdiction:
Offense Location:
Elgin, Illinois
Summary:
Lori Jean Bolger was a 16-year-old high school student at Larkin High School when she was murdered on June 22, 1976. Lori was last seen leaving Larkin High School that morning after attending a driver’s education class. Tragically, she had attended her father’s funeral just days before her own murder. At 11:27 AM, two workers found Lori’s body on the ground of the Elgin Township Estates Sewage Treatment Plant near Randall Road and Hopps Road. Lori had been beaten in the head & left in a field.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Offense:
William Charles Reinbold is considered a suspect for this homicide. Reinbold has an extensive criminal history including an arrest as a 17-year-old in 1970. On 04-01-1970, he followed a nurse, Ann Ward, as she walked S/B on Route 31, before approaching her from behind, striking her on the head, and dragging her into a culvert where he attempted to remove her clothing and stabbed her 45 times with a pocket knife. He also took her purse. He served 5 years in prison for that case. Upon his release in May of 1975, Reinbold was a suspect in multiple blunt instrument attacks, bleach attacks, paint and motor oil attacks, and hit-and-run incidents involving young, female victims in the Elgin area between 1975 and 1977 before moving to Harrisburg, Illinois. On July 27, 1977, Reinbold was the last person seen with 15-year-old Beth Ann Headrick before she disappeared. He was arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and released. Reinbold then moved to California. In December of 1977, Beth Ann's body was found in a field approximately 1 mile from her home. Reinbold remains a suspect in her case. Reinbold lived in northern California from the fall of 1977 to approximately 1981. During his time in California, Reinbold was a suspect in multiple incidents involving young women. On August 31, 1980, Diane Rodriguez was walking in Lake Tahoe when an unknown person approached her from behind and beat her over the head before dumping her in a nearby wooded area. She survived and was unable to identify her attacker. Reinbold was in the area riding his motorcycle and was listed as a suspect, but never charged. He also was arrested for squirting motor oil on several women, for burglarizing a girl's car at a high school, and for beating Debbie Chessie with a tire iron in a parking lot, however that case was later dismissed. Reinbold then moved back to Illinois living in the Canton area. Upon his return to Illinois, Reinbold became a suspect in the disappearance of 17-year-old Kimberly McClaskey who disappeared near London Mills, Illinois on June 16, 1983. Her belongings were found in the spoon river and her skull was later found in a fieldl; however she was not positively identified until 2006. While in Illinois, he frequented the Peoria, Galesburg, and Canton area as well as nearby eastern Iowa. Then, on December 26, 1988, Reinbold abducted 21-year-old Mary Clark from a laundromat in Farmington, Illinois. He beat her to death and dumped her body in a field. He was convicted for the abduction and murder of Mary Clarke and is currently serving a life sentence.
Additional Details:
Elgin Police Department Cold Case Website: https://elgincoldcases.com
Case Last Updated:
Timeline of Events
Witnesses discover Lori Bolger's purse in a field on the south side of Big Timer Road east of Randall Road.
Family identify Lori Jean Bolger as the victim.
Police learn that Lori Jean Bolger has been reported missing in South Elgin.
5 males are arrested in Algonquin, Illinois in a white 1965 Plymouth Fury with a black top for the theft of a car battery. Police later located blood inside the vehicle as well as a hammer. They advise that they had picked up a male hitchhiker who attacked them. DNA later determines that the blood in their vehicle is that of an unknown male and not Lori Bolger's blood.
Police arrive on-scene
Workers locate Lori Bolger's body in a grassy field at the site. They leave and call police from a nearby gas station.
2 workers for the Elgin Estates Sewage Treatment Plant arrive at the site for work.
Passer-by driving on Randall Road observed a female lying in the grass at the Elgin Estate's Sewage Treatment Plant. He initially believes she is sunbathing.
Last confirmed sighting of Lori walking south on McLean near Elgin Community College.
Lori begins walking south on McLean Boulevard toward her home in South Elgin.
Lori's driver's ed class ends.
Lori's driver's ed class begins.
Lori arrives at Larkin High School for her driver's ed class.
Associated Persons
William R. (Person of Interest) - Living
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