The rampage of Laurie Dann & the murder of Nick Corwin | Ep 237

Summary

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Crime and Coffee Couple - True Crime Podcast

Episode 237: The Rampage of Laurie Dann & the Murder of Nick Corwin
Date: March 22, 2026
Hosts: Allison & Mike

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Overview

In this episode, Allison delves into the harrowing and often-overlooked 1988 Winnetka, Illinois rampage committed by Laurie Dann, culminating in the tragic murder of eight-year-old Nick Corwin and the wounding of multiple others. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, Allison guides Mike—and listeners—through Dann’s background, the overlooked red flags, the day’s events, and the aftermath, all peppered with the couple’s signature candid banter and thoughtful social commentary.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Suburban Illusions Shattered

[06:41]

• Winnetka, Illinois in 1988: Affluent, "virtually crime-free" suburb where violent crime seemed implausible; parents routinely left kids at school without a second thought.
• Quote (Allison, 07:03):

  "However, the illusion of safety shattered when a 30 year old woman from a wealthy family decided to go on a murderous spree, shooting six students at the Hubbard Woods Elementary School."

2. Laurie Dann’s Troubled Background

[07:28-30:02]

• Born Lori Wasserman, 1957. Quiet, unremarkable student, few close friends, always seeking male attention.
• Family invested in her outward appearance (ear pinning, nose job); lacked emotional warmth.
• Pattern of instability: Numerous college changes, aimless career pursuits, serial romantic attachments.
• Early warning signs: Social withdrawal, compulsive behaviors (e.g., opening car doors to tap feet on pavement, refusing to close kitchen cabinets).
• Escalating mental health struggles: Unfinished therapy, dependence on medication, declining hygiene, erratic behavior (e.g., putting meat under furniture at her apartment, incidents of theft and vandalism).
• Quote (Mike, 09:04):

  "It's just common decency...if somebody says good morning. Just a quick one. That's all we ask. We're all humans in this together. Let's make it nice."

3. Relationships and Escalating Violence

[17:18-26:31]

• Marriage to Russell Dann: Short-lived, riddled with drama, manipulation, emotional dependency, divorce threats (“If I can’t have you, nobody can.”)
• Accusations—never substantiated—of Russell abusing Laurie.
• First overt violence:
  • Ice pick stabbing of her estranged husband; only Laurie’s denial and a passed polygraph spared her consequences (though compelling evidence existed).
  • Patterns of harassment: Phone call campaigns (traced to her parents’ house), stalking, false accusations.
• Growing instability: Frequently evicted, odd jobs as a babysitter (with mixed and unsettling results).
• Quote (Mike, 21:31):

  "You gotta love yourself and be confident in yourself before anybody else can love you."

4. Systemic Failures & Missed Red Flags

[30:46-34:05]

• Despite numerous disturbing incidents (theft, property destruction, suspected poisoning), Dann continued to slip through the cracks.
• Authorities, family, and clinicians routinely failed to intervene decisively, citing lack of "concrete evidence.”
• Laurie legally purchased multiple firearms despite a clear mental health history.
• Quote (Allison, 30:15):

  "So he's coming in to help her move out, but not getting her the treatment she needs."

5. The Deadly Day: May 20, 1988

[34:05-46:13]

Timeline Highlights:

• Early morning: Laurie delivers arsenic-laced food to multiple community members and packages to her ex-husband and psychiatrist.
• ~9am-10:15am: Attempts arson at a former babysitting client’s home and a local school; leaves poisoned items at a daycare.
• First serious attack: At Hubbard Woods Elementary, she shoots 6-year-old Robert Trussman in a bathroom (he survives), attempts to shoot two other boys (gun jams), discards one weapon.
• Classroom assault:
  • Enters second-grade class of 24, attempts to corral children (thwarted by substitute teacher Amy Moses—credited with preventing further deaths).
  • Opens fire: Five children shot; eight-year-old Nick Corwin killed.
  • Quote (Allison, 39:21):

    “Had Amy followed her instructions, all of the children could have gotten shots.”

• Fleeing & Hostage Situation:
  • After botched escape, Dann invades the home of the Andrew family, holding them hostage under the false claim she had been raped and was fleeing police.
  • Phil Andrew, a college swimmer, remains calm, facilitates communications with Laurie's mother (who is oddly disengaged), and eventually is shot in the chest but survives due to quick medical intervention.
  • Laurie commits suicide inside the home as police surround the scene at approximately 7pm.

Notable Moments & Quotes:

• Heroics:
  Substitute teacher's refusal to comply likely saved dozens:

  “Amy refused and she tried to disarm Lori. [...] Had Amy followed her instructions, all of the children could have gotten shots.” (Allison, 39:21)

• Parental Disengagement:

  “He explained that, you know, this alleged rape happened. He said, can you please come here and pick your daughter up? And she just said, ma, I can't. I don't have a car.” (Allison, 43:09)

6. Aftermath & Societal Impact

[46:13-55:47]

• The shooting was one of the earliest to receive national, rolling 24-hour news coverage.
• Sparked ongoing debate about guns, mental health, and school safety—regarded as a chilling foreshadowing for the now-routine tragedies.
• Statistics: (as of December 2025)
  • At least 75 school shootings in the U.S. that year.
  • School shootings have become so common that emergency drills for active shooters are now routine for American schoolchildren.
  • Over 4,300 U.S. children/teens killed and 17,000+ wounded by gunfire annually.
• Survivor impact: Life-altering trauma and advocacy work (e.g., Phil Andrew’s career with the FBI and Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence).
• Quote (Mike, 47:11):

  "Now, if you're not from America, you probably don't know that our children are trained in safety drills for active shooters. [...] Kids in America are trained for active shooters."

7. Reflection & Critical Analysis

[55:47-end]

• Emotional weight for survivors and community: The pain doesn't end with physical wounds and often fundamentally alters the trajectory of entire lives.
• Hosts’ strong stance on parental and system accountability, especially in light of multiple missed intervention opportunities:
  • Quote (Allison, 57:03):

    "You can't bury your head in the sand and just expect that things are going to go away because they're not."

• Gun control: Discussion of the need for better regulation, especially regarding mental illness and violent histories; addresses the often-divisive American political stance on guns but advocates for consensus on restricting weapons for at-risk individuals.
  • Quote (Mike, 56:19):

    "If you think that everybody should just have guns all the time, I don't think there's...I think there's maybe a minute portion of the population, and they're probably not even listening to this because I think we have some very, like, just smart and good people listening to us. If you're one of those people, like, everybody should have guns...go to hell, like, then never listen to us."

• Empathy and personal stakes: As parents, the hosts reflect on the modern fear of school shootings, illustrating how even privileged communities aren’t immune.

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Memorable Quotes

• On missed red flags and family priorities:

  "Maybe her parents were more focused on how she looked on the outside versus what was going on on the inside."
  —Allison [09:40]

• On banter and the show’s tone:

  "We like to get a little banter going before the horrible, horrible story we're about to say, just because it feels like you guys are friends."
  —Michael [02:27]

• On the survivor’s turn to advocacy:

  "His goals at that point in time, he just wanted to be the best swimmer that he could be at his university. But when he recovered, he went on to have a successful career within the FBI."
  —Allison [49:45]

• On the trauma left behind:

  "The trauma didn't just end when police arrived. It followed them into adulthood, into their memories and nightmares, and into a life that was forever divided by before and after."
  —Allison [53:13]

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Important Timestamps

• 06:39: Case Introduction—Laurie Dann and Nick Corwin
• 07:28: Background: Laurie’s Early Life
• 17:19: Marriage and the Onset of Disturbing Behavior
• 24:15: First Attempted Murder (ice pick attack) & Escalation
• 32:17: Firearm Purchases Despite Mental Health Concerns
• 34:05: The Day of the Rampage
• 39:21: Heroism of Substitute Teacher Amy Moses
• 41:38: Hostage Scenario at Andrew Home
• 46:13: Dann’s Suicide & Aftermath
• 47:11: School Shooting Statistics & National Impact
• 49:45: Phil Andrew’s Path from Victim to Advocate
• 53:13: Trauma & Reflection

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Themes & Takeaways

• Systemic Accountability:
  The case is a haunting illustration of how repeated warning signs were ignored by family, clinicians, and authorities, resulting in preventable tragedy.
• Impact of Gun Laws:
  Despite a known, escalating mental health crisis and multiple acts of violence or threats, Laurie Dann legally acquired firearms without impediment.
• Survivors’ Lifelong Burden:
  The episode emphasizes that trauma from such violence doesn’t simply “heal.” It profoundly changes lives—of children, families, and even bystanders.
• Importance of Community & Mental Health Support:
  Both hosts discuss the necessity for society-wide vigilance, more robust intervention, and the availability of mental health resources (including sharing the 988 crisis line).

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Host Reflections & Banter

• Authentic, off-the-cuff reactions from Mike as he hears the case details for the first time.
• Married-couple dynamic provides a balance of levity and gravity, always returning focus to the victims’ experiences.

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If you or someone you know is struggling, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – help is available 24/7.

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For more true crime insights and bonus content, check out the Crime and Coffee Couple on Patreon or Apple Podcasts.

Transcript

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[Allison]

Grocery outlet bargain market. Hello, everyone. Welcome back to another episode with the crime and coffee couple. My name is Alison.

[Michael]

And my name is Michael.

[Allison]

Hello, Michael.

[Michael]

Is that a little more professional? That sounds professional. Does it? I have like two customers that call me Michael. I never asked them to, but they do. I don't know why. They're not my parents, so that's interesting. But yeah, I really don't like calling by Michael people. Always. I used to be like, I don't care, whatever, but I genuinely don't like Michael.

[Allison]

Well, it's because you're used to going by Mike.

[Michael]

Yeah, I'm a mic. I'm a mic. And if we ever get any drinks at Starbucks or anything, it's never Mike. It's got to be Biff.

[Allison]

Always Biff.

[Michael]

Yeah, we've told you that before. But for our new listeners, I'm. I'm. If you ever see me at Starbucks, you hear somebody named Biff that has a drink, it's a good chance it's me. And that is in fact from Back to the Future.

[Progressive Commercial Announcer]

So.

[Allison]

And I know I've mentioned it before, but I hate it when I go up and in front of the whole restaurant, they're like, who's your order for? I was like, biff.

[Michael]

They're like, well, oh, yeah, Biff right here. And they always remember, so it's good.

[Allison]

I always feel like such a tool.

[Michael]

Yeah, well, you are a tool. Just kidding. You're not. You're great. So we're a married couple here. And every single Sunday, Allison brings us a new story. She tells me I've never heard it before. And I have live reactions, questions, things of that nature. I have lots of HS and Oz and all that sort of thing, but usually it's a terrible, terrible story. So buckle yourselves in.

[Allison]

Absolutely. We're always drinking our coffee. If you see me petting something off screen, we've got our little shorky, our little six pound angel baby who lives in my heart, who I'm obsessed with.

[Michael]

Yeah, she's a. She's a little darling.

[Allison]

And if I could take her everywhere I ever went, I'd be a happy person.

[Michael]

Yeah, she's. She's a good kid. You love her. She's like one of our kids. We have two kids and all that. And yeah, we like to get a little banter going before the horrible, horrible story we're about to say, just because it feels like you guys are friends. Like we're gathering around the coffee table here and not to push the coffee thing too much, but, well, we are

[Allison]

the crime and coffee couple. And if you don't like banter, you're in luck because there's a skip the banter button.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

You can go straight to the meat and potatoes of the case.

[Michael]

Right on. On YouTube. You can click on it, I think on Apple. You can click on it. Spotify. I don't think that's clickable, but at least it would tell you where it is. So welcome to the show, all the new listeners, all that good stuff. Thank you so much.

[Allison]

Welcome.

[Michael]

Yes, while you're there, go ahead and leave a comment and like, and subscribe and all that good stuff. It helps us, you know, how that goes. But how's your week going this week?

[Allison]

A little hectic, I'd say. Yeah, I'm been running a little wild this morning.

[Michael]

Crazy folks. Crazy.

[Allison]

Having a hard time catching my breath.

[Michael]

Well, so real quick, you did say you're trying to catch your breath. And I noticed this morning you were coming out into the family room and I just heard, and I was like, I don't usually hear that. I'm like, okay, what's going on? Is everything all right? You're just like, it's just a lot to do. A lot going on. And there is a lot going on.

[Allison]

Yeah. So we're getting ready. Mike's parents are flying in today, and if you're a bonus listener, you heard us touch on this. But I always just like the house to be fully ready for our guests. I want them to be comfortable. They're staying with us for three weeks. So I'm just trying to get my ducks in a row.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

So that I'm prepared.

[Michael]

They're Aged. My dad's like 83. Mom's like 78. Ish.

[Allison]

Yes.

[Michael]

So dad, you know, had. He had fallen down the stairs a few years ago or two years ago.

[Allison]

Two years ago when they first moved into their new house. It was their first night in the house and it was dark and it was an unfamiliar place. They had no night lights on whatsoever. And he got up to go to the bathroom, took a wrong turn and fell down those. The staircase.

[Michael]

Yeah. They're in a 55, no community. And this stupid house has just one set of stairs going to the basement. And it's like wide open, which I should have. I kicked myself. I should have like put something in front of it. Now there's a big dresser in front of it, so nobody goes downstairs.

[Allison]

Well, we weren't there. We had yet to see that house.

[Michael]

Yeah, they live in Illinois. But yeah, he fell down the stairs and had like a brain bleed like months later. Didn't show up like on the, at the er, but months later had like a brain bleed and they had the drilling holes and all that stuff. So. Poor guy. I mean, he's, he's doing great.

[Allison]

Yeah, your dad is a trooper. He never complains. He's happy with anything. Yeah, he's just an all around, very positive guy. Like if he got two hours of horrible sleep, he'd be like, y. Yeah, I feel great.

[Michael]

Right. Ready to go. Yeah. And he's always like, every food you put in front of me, like, yeah, it's good. Something different.

[Allison]

I eat anything. I could sleep anywhere. And so we made sure we got him situated where he, he and Mike's mom do not share a bed because he snores. So we got him situated in our son's bedroom. Our mother, my mother in law is in the back bedroom. Our son's upstairs. It's just, it's chaos here.

[Michael]

We got to get him a book. We know. Like, so my dad's a very. He likes to move and just do things all the time. He always likes to go for walks and like if he's sitting there, he's sleeping basically on the couch. And he'll be like, I don't know if I've ever shared it before, but like it's. If you're watching YouTube, it's basically just, I like mouth open, wide, head back, mouth open and mouth wide open. He looks like he's dead. If this week watch or maybe, you know, at some point I'll put it on Instagram.

[Allison]

So we want to get him a book because he gets restless and this way he could sit out by the pool and read and keep himself occupied.

[Michael]

Yeah, God, God bless the little guy. Anyway, he always loves like little crime books, so something about the Mafia. He's not Italian. Czechoslovakian if anything. And yeah, he, for some reason he just loves reading about the mob.

[Allison]

So really the mob or baseball are his two go to's.

[Michael]

So we're like, what is he gonna watch? Because we canceled cable and we're like, I think I'll just put on some old baseball videos from YouTube.

[Allison]

It's gonna be interesting around here.

[Michael]

Like he'll know that they're old. I'm not gonna be like, hey dad, it's a new game or whatever. I'm not that cruel. But.

[Allison]

Well, that would be like very gaslighting. He'd be talking to somebody's like, did you see that game? They'd be like, that's from 15 years ago.

[Michael]

Yeah, he's talking about guys like Mark McGuire and Jose Canseco and Dick Allen back in the day. Yeah, so that, yeah, we're just gonna, I, we'll see. There should be some college basketball. I don't know.

[Allison]

We'll see what, what, we'll keep the little guy entertained.

[Michael]

Yeah, yeah. God bless him.

[Allison]

So anything else you want to add or are you ready to dive into this case?

[Michael]

I think I'm ready to dive in.

[Allison]

All right, well, let's do this. We're going to get into this cup of coffee. This is a listener suggestion from Hunter. This is the rampage of Lori Dan and the murder of Nick Corwin.

[Michael]

Lori Dan, sounds familiar.

[Allison]

So on the morning of Friday, May 20, 1988, as we're going as far back as that, the quiet and virtually crime free suburb of Winnetka, Illinois, Queen was doing what it always did. Parents were dropping their children off at school before they were heading off to work themselves. Coffee was brewing, lawns were being tended to in a place where neighbors knew each other. And violent crime really seemed like something that happened somewhere else. And to someone else. However, the illusion of safety shattered when a 30 year old woman from a wealthy family decided to go on a murderous spree, shooting six students at the Hubbard Woods Elementary School.

[Michael]

Wow, that is crazy. I'm sorry to cut you off, but like if there's ever a school shooting, it's usually a boy or a man or something like that. A woman from an affluent family. That's crazy.

[Allison]

Very, very out of the. Well, I can't really say out of the blue because there were definitely warning signs. So she showed up at Hubbard Woods Elementary School. She killed eight year old Nicholas Corwin and she critically injured five others. Today's case isn't just about a shooting, but it highlights the signs that were missed. In a system that failed to act. There were a trail of red flags that in hindsight really seemed impossible to ignore. So this is a story of Lori Dan and the day that residents of Winnetka's illusion of safety was forever changed. Lori Dan was born Lori Wasserman on October 18, 1957 as a second child to parents 27 year old Edith Joy and 28 year old Norman Wasserman. At the time of her birth, her brother was five years old and they lived in Pill Hill. This is a neighborhood in Calumet Heights and it's on the south side of Chicago. I've actually never heard of Pill Hill.

[Michael]

Me neither.

[Allison]

So when she was seven years old, they moved to a large brick tri level home in Highland park on the North Shore. So during her time in elementary school and middle school, her classmates remember Lori as very quiet and unremarkable. Unremarkable. Excuse me. They indicated that she really didn't seem to have a whole lot of close friends, but she was an amazing speller. I thought that was a little bit of an odd add in there.

[Michael]

Maybe they're like really searching for something. They're like, okay, no, no, that's nothing. Good. Okay. Well, she spelled pretty well.

[Allison]

Yeah. So one classmate described her as very, very quiet. The type of person who you would say good morning to and you would just be met with silence.

[Michael]

Oh God, you. That is one of your pet peeves.

[Allison]

So fricking weird.

[Michael]

It's like you're a terrible piece of shit if you don't say good morning. At least like something like, okay, I know that you shouldn't have to say something just because somebody spoke to you, but like, it's just common decency. If somebody says good morning. Just like, good morning. Just a quick one. That's all we ask. Just like, we're all humans in this together. Let's make it nice.

[Allison]

And I understand if she's a child and she's not maybe saying good morning, but there are times I'd be walking through the hallway at work, I work in a hospital and I would say good morning to an adult and nothing. And I'm like. In my head I'd be like, you're an effing weirdo.

[Michael]

And if that happens to me, I start being like, good morning. Hey, did you hear me? And then they just keep. Oh, gross.

[Allison]

Yeah, I don't want to make things awkward, so I don't do that. So when Lori was in elementary school, her parents paid to have her ears pinned back and then they later paid to have a nose job. And I think that this was brought up in my research because it kind of highlighted that maybe her parents were more focused on how she looked on the outside versus what was going on on the inside.

[Michael]

I didn't know you could pin kids ears back. Yeah, I thought that was like a dog thing.

[Allison]

No, people actually I was watching. I think it was the Valley Persian style. And if I'm not mistaken, one of the guys said he had his ears pinned back.

[Michael]

Do they like put a pin into your head and your like ears?

[Allison]

I don't know if it's stitched back. I didn't look into the procedure. Okay. So while she attended Red Oak Junior High, lo maintained good grades. And as she entered high school she attended two different schools, eventually transferring to New Treer East High School in the affluent area of Wetka. And here the current mean household income is about 460,000 and the medium home value is often listed well above a million. And I of course hopped on over to Zillow and we live in the suburb or we did live in the suburbs of Chicago. I've actually never been to Winetka, but. But I would pop over to Zillow and I am talking, you would get a 2,000 square foot kind of rundown home for almost a million. And then the nicer ones are upwards of six plus million.

[Michael]

You know, my dad's friend Uncle Jim lived in Winnetica. Really been there several times.

[Allison]

So not only is when that car consistently ranked among the wealthiest suburbs in the United States, but it might be most notably known for the town where the Home Alone house is. This is at 671 Lincoln Avenue. However, what a lot of people might not know is that rather than filming inside this iconic home that was the face of Home Alone, much of the movie was actually filmed on a constructed set inside the gym at New Trier Township High School after it closed due to declining enrollment in 1981. I read that the scene where the neighbor's basement is flooded, you know, because of the wet bandits had come through and Kevin's running through that, that scene was filmed in the old high school's pool. And what is the name of the director? John Hughes. Thank you. I've just.

[Michael]

I did nothing. I just looked at you.

[Allison]

So John Hughes grew up in that area, which is why all the films he is known to do take place in the Chicago suburbs.

[Michael]

Breakfast Club. Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

[Allison]

In my mind, John Hughes is just an absolute legend. I utterly adore all of his movies. One of my favorites is the Breakfast Club. And of course, you can't forget Ferris Bueller's Day Off. No, my high school was actually in that movie.

[Michael]

Oh yeah, now your high school, the band was.

[Allison]

Well, the band was Lockport Township High School. So the home at 671 Lincoln Avenue was used for the iconic exterior as well as the staircase and the front front entry of the home. Otherwise, all the other scenes were filmed at this set at the high school. And I will tell you, the people who bought this home. Now, my cousin went up there for Christmas and she did a Snapchat. If you could see the throngs of cars lined up down the street in the crowds of people that are gathered out in front of this house just to get a look at it. And maybe it was more so because it was Christmas time. I don't know if it's like that all year long. The house did install a gate for like a shield. But regardless, you look out your front window and there are crowds of people standing outside your house.

[Michael]

Well, what I would do is just set up a bunch of mannequins and make it look like we're having a party.

[Allison]

That's all kind of like in Home Alone.

[Michael]

Yes, exactly.

[Allison]

So this 9,126 square foot, five bedroom, six bathroom home, it actually recently sold for five and a half million in January of 2025 after undergoing a major overhaul. Now again, keep in mind that what you see in the movie isn't necessarily in the home, but it looks virtually unrecognizable. It's very modern, it's very white, gray, muted colors, where of course in the movie it's a lot of those rich Christmy colors. So of course, Home Alone was made in 1990, and rather than the spooky basement where Kevin wandered down to do his laundry, now it is this completely renovated basketball court. There's a movie theater, a wet bar, and a fully equipped gym. Oh, to be rich. So Lori's father, this is Norman Wasserman. He had built a successful accounting business and he loved to spend his free time traveling, playing tennis, jogging, and taking care of his family. He was a provider. Although he and Edith never hesitated to shower their only daughter with gifts and things, they didn't really display much affection towards one another. And Laurie really struggled to voice her love of her parents. And there was a Talk about a speech she had done. And she couldn't even bring herself during the speech to tell her parents that she loved them. So during her time in high school, Lori had very little girlfriends that carried on past school, but she was very popular with the boys. She attended junior prom at the Orrington Hotel in Evanston, and she and her date continued their relationship for about a month. Her female classmates could recognize that Lori was the type of girl that always had to have a boy by her side. You would see her in the hallway. She'd be draped over some boy. If it wasn't one, it was another. So in the fall of 1976, Lori started college at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. She had an education major at that point, and one year later, she transferred over to the University of Arizona in Tucson as a liberal arts major, where she pledged the Alpha Delta PI sorority. And during this time, she was a C student. And her former sorority sister recalls that really, rather than focusing on school, she wanted to focus on men and getting dates. So it wasn't uncommon that she would schedule several dates with various men over the course of one evening.

[Michael]

Wow.

[Allison]

And she would cancel one at the very last minute in order to keep the date with a guy that she really had her eye on. So despite being involved in a sorority, her Alpha Delta PI sisters indicated that she wasn't particularly social, which is interesting because most people join sororities for that sisterhood. And they said that she wasn't really fun to be around because she was a complainer. So during that summer, Lori took a home economics course at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. And when she returned to Tucson in the fall of 1977, she changed her major to home economics. So this is the third time she's changing her major, and this is the third college she's gone to. So you can basically deduce that she doesn't really have a clear vision of what she wants in her life, which sometimes is understandable when you're young and you're choosing a career that you're gonna essentially work in for the rest of your life. It's a big decision. So an ex boyfriend she was dating at the time indicated that their relationship ended as he was preparing to enter medical school. And this boy will come back around when he's now a man working as a doctor, but this will be later in the case. So he felt that although she was possessive, she was jealous of other women. He never noticed anything overtly odd about her. So during the summer of 1980, Lori left Arizona and Returned home to the North Shore of Illinois where she quickly started a new romance with Russell Dan. And if you think of that last name, I started this case with her as Lori Dan.

[Michael]

They're going to get married.

[Allison]

They're going to get married. So this is a man that she met at a bar and Russell grew up in Highland park and he was moving up the ranks within his family's business. This is Dan Brothers insurance company in Northbrook. Russell was described as an all American boy who was outgoing. He was always surrounded by friends, well liked, an outstanding skier and a champion tennis player.

[Michael]

Sounds like a rich kid.

[Allison]

Sounds like complete opposite of Lori, though, because she's more antisocial towards the girls, whereas Russell is surrounded by. It sounds like he's a very affable guy that's surrounded by a lot of

[Michael]

people and sometimes, you know, if you have opposites attract and all that kind of thing.

[Allison]

So nine months after they match, Lori and Russell were engaged at the Wasserman's Boca Raton, Florida home. The couple were married in a small ceremony in Northbrook on September 11, 1982, when Russell was 26 and Lori was just one month shy of turning 25. So by this point she had enrolled in and withdrawn from six courses. Now at Northwestern University, she was in their continuing education program.

[Michael]

What a waste of money.

[Allison]

Total. That's what I kept thinking. I mean, it's good that her family has money, but my goodness, it's like just open a window and throw the cash out because that's what's happening here. So because Russell was earning a six figure salary and we're talking this is back in the early 1980s and this was only a fraction of his true net worth because his family had built this business. And at that point in time, Lori didn't technically need to work. They didn't need her income. However, when applying for jobs, she was deceptive though. She wrote that she had graduated from the University of Arizona, that wasn't true. She had gone there, but she had withdrawn.

[Michael]

At that point it's probably hard to prove it. I mean, they probably want your transcripts,

[Allison]

but sure they would. And she also said that she worked at Dan Brothers Insurance even though she hadn't. So while they were dating and newly married, Russell did notice some things in Lori and he initially just chalked them up to her superstitions. So they would be stopped at a stoplight and Lori would often open the door and tap her foot on the pavement.

[Michael]

Okay.

[Allison]

And then she would tiptoe around the carpet in her parents Boca Raton home, and she refused to close all of the cabinets in the kitchen. So on top of this accounting business that her father had, he also was a part owner of a clothing store. And although he provided his daughter with a plethora of new clothing, rather than wearing these items, they always ended up in a giant messy heap on her closet floor. And instead she was said to dress very sloppily. She slept a lot of the day and Russell started to seem, you know, find that his wife just, she seemed very dependent and helpless in life. So Russell tried very hard to make things work and he promised that he would spend whatever it took to really make Lori better. And she began seeing a psychiatrist. However, By March of 1984, Lori refused help. And in a letter from her psychiatrist on March 12, he pleaded with her to continue this psychotherapy. So it seems like she starts things, but she doesn't complete them. He also warned Lori that she couldn't just solely rely on her prescribed medications to get better. She needed to continue the therapy. So in 1985, Lori and Russell purchased a five bedroom home in Highland park. But they separated later that same year. Russell's father Armand gave Norman Wasserman a deadline for them to come to a friendly divorce agreement. And one day before the deadline, In January of 1986, Lori filed for disillusion of marriage after she confided in her lawyer that she had hoped to drag this divorce on for at least the next two to three years. And according to a friend, Lori once told Russell, if I can't have you, nobody can. She also said that her marriage was the only thing she had and the only thing she wanted.

[Michael]

That's pretty sad.

[Allison]

It is sad. And you can never put such stock in another human being because you have

[Michael]

no control over who they are. You know, like you, they can switch on a dime and then all of a sudden you're screwed. Or just like, you know, you got to love yourself and be confident in yourself before anybody else can love you.

[Allison]

And that's really what it comes down to is you can't put your confidence and having another person bolster you up. You have to have that from within.

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[Allison]

So during a hearing in June of 1986, although her lawyer alleged that Russell had beaten his wife during their marriage as well as their separation, there was absolutely no evidence to support that this was true.

[Michael]

So this chick's crazy.

[Allison]

So in the meantime, Lori's ex boyfriend from Tucson who was now working as a doctor, he began receiving harassing phone calls.

[Michael]

The guy you told us about before.

[Allison]

Yeah. And obviously this seemed to come out of the blue because years had passed at this point in time. So on May 10, 1986, Lori entered the Marksman Gun Shop in Glenview. And the clerk recalls her being actively flirtatious. And it was here that she purchased a.357 Smith Wetz Wesson. Excuse me. Easy for me to say. Magnum. And this was something that she told her parents that she needed for her own protection. So Russell somehow learned that she is now armed. And he was very uncomfortable by this idea and he notified the police. But when Mr. And Mrs. Wasserman were contacted by the Glencoe police, they assured them that the gun would be kept in a safe space in a deposit box. So in August, Lori met John Childs. This was a man that lived only two houses away. She was at Glencoe beach when they bumped into each other. And during their one month relationship, he noticed that she would open doors and pick up silverware using her sleeves. And his mom noticed how often that she was washing her hands. She also didn't like to be touched. And she said she was fearful of her estranged husband. But if you talk to Russell, it's the opposite. He feels very fearful of her.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

So moving forward to September 30, 1986, while Russell Dan was asleep in his apartment, someone snuck inside and stabbed him in the chest with an ice pick.

[Michael]

Holy crap.

[Allison]

His lung was punctured. And in one of the sources I read, his heart was nearly miss. Like this man could have died.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

Although he told the police that he had not seen the intruder, A hardware store employee recalled that Lori purchased an ice pick and a receipt for said ice pick was found in her house. However, Russell indicated that after he failed a lie detector test and Lori passed one, no charges were filed.

[Michael]

That's how stupid. I hate lie detector tests.

[Allison]

It's ridiculous. And also there's hard proof that she walked into a hardware store and purchased this ice pick.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

And then her ex husband is stabbed nearly puncturing his heart.

[Michael]

Like did she have a good story as to why she bought an ice pick? Like it's the 80s, there's no, no longer ice chests or anything.

[Allison]

I honestly think it was kind of just very quickly dropped.

[Michael]

Crazy.

[Allison]

So when Russell spoke with the media, he claimed that Lori had actually admitted to being the person to stab him. Shortly thereafter, his family and friends began receiving harassing late night phone calls that were highly suspected that Lori was the person involved. The court calls began as a hang up and despite the fact that they were made to a woman that Russell had been dating at the time, they were eventually traced to the Wasserman's home in Glencoe. But charges were later dropped after Lori was arrested by the Highland park police. This happened in November of 1986. So the police report stated victim meaning Russell's girlfriend believed suspect is 1096. This is police code for a mental patient. Lake county prosecutors cited lack of concrete evidence. The phone calls were traced to her parents house. I don't know how that's a lack of concrete evidence.

[Michael]

Well, is it illegal to make phone calls?

[Allison]

Like I don't know what kind of threats she was making during these particular phone calls.

[Michael]

Even like threats. I don't know if that's illegal because

[Allison]

I mean if you say I'm gonn gonna kill you.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

You can't just say that.

[Michael]

I don't know. Yeah, I'm not saying it's okay. I just don't know if it's illegal.

[Allison]

So In January of 1987, as Russell and Lori proceeded towards divorce, they intended to split the money from the sale of their home. This was valued at about 250 000. So today it would be worth about 713 000. Russell would also pay Lori 1250amonth, which for 36 months I should say. And in 2026 this equates to a little over $3,500. So it was about this time that the harassing phone calls started to slow down. But then by March of that year, Russell's friends sought help from the Lake County State's attorney indicating that Lori had called them two to three times a Night. Five nights in a row, man. The divorce was finally finalized on April 27, 1987. But in May, she accused Russell of sexually assaulting her. And after hair samples were taken from Russell, prosecutors decided that they didn't have enough to, you know, pursue the case. So that summer, Lori, who was nearly 30 years old, she sublet an apartment from a student at the Kellogg Living Learning center at Northwestern in Evanston. So she's surrounding herself with people that are so much younger from, you know, than her. And pretty soon, she became the suspect of thefts within the building. She was also accused of several disruptive incidents, one that included meat being put under the cushions of the chairs and couches in the lounges, which, of course, as the meat starts to rot, the lounge is going to reek.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

So right around this time, Lori, who always wanted to have a child, she began advertising her babysitting services, which is so scary to think that someone that's not mentally well is wanting to watch children.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

So she was posting handwritten notices on bulletin boards around town. And although some families that she ended up working for along the North Shore in 1987 said that she had been near perfect, others had an entirely different experience with her. They accused her of being a thief, a vandalizer, and a liar. However, each family had admitted, though, that she was technically good with their children. And I think it was because she just had this childlike quality about her so that she was able to connect with the children but be very uneasy with the adults, even though she herself was an adult. So while spending time in these homes, Lori was accused of putting used dirty dishes back into drawers and cabinets without washing them, stealing food and defacing property.

[Michael]

So she doesn't get a whole lot of referrals from these jobs, I guess.

[Allison]

She didn't. No. And, you know, she's stealing food, even though she comes from a wealthy background and she does not need to to steal food. They have plenty of money in their account. Her father was very happy to continue to pay for her needs.

[Michael]

She's doing it for fun.

[Allison]

She's doing it. I don't know why, because she's just acting out. She also dressed very sloppily. She was said to have a very strong body odor.

[Michael]

Oh, gosh. That's the. Yeah, probably the worst thing you could say. Disgusting.

[Allison]

So after Northwestern University made attempts to evict Lori because everyone knew that she was causing a ruckus around and, I

[Michael]

mean, really at this point. Poor thing.

[Allison]

Like she's desperate for help.

[Michael]

Yeah, exactly. At this Point, like if it was this year, like she would get some help.

[Allison]

She needs help.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

You know, her and her parents are stepping in to help her in certain ways, but not mentally.

[Michael]

Like surface level.

[Allison]

Surface level.

[Michael]

And it's like that's just not enough. Maybe they didn't know that in the 80s.

[Allison]

I don't know. Maybe. I mean, surely not. Things have come a long way where people aren't ashamed to say that they're seeing a therapist because we shouldn't need to. I think everyone should be seeing a therapist, to be quite honest with you.

[Michael]

Sure.

[Allison]

So, you know, here's an example. Northwestern University is evicting her because she's doing things like stealing from people and putting meat under the couches. So her dad steps in to help to move her out. This happened on September 7th. And you know, but it's like. So he's coming in to help her move out, but not getting her the treatment she needs. So her apartment was later inspected and officials found urine stained floors and rancid meat on the counters. So it sounds like she was just like peeing in the middle of her apartments.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

She was found then five blocks away, sleeping in her car. Something that the investigator claimed wasn't really unusual. So because of her concerning behavior, a Glencoe public safety director reached an agreement with Norman Wasserman in October that Lori stop seeking out new babysitting positions. But they were okay with her remaining in the households of the children that she was watching at that point in time, which to me is a little odd.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

So on November 7, 1987, she returned to this gun shop and now she's purchasing a.32 caliber Smith Wesson. And then on December 29th, she purchased a third gun, a semi automatic Beretta. This is someone that has a known history of mental illness and she has just gone on to purchase three guns.

[Michael]

Yeah, the last person you'd want to be buying guns.

[Allison]

So. And not only that, her behavior is ramping up. Up big time. So police believe that she then moved to Madison. Sometime between November of 1987 and January of 1988, she moved into the Towers. This is an off campus student housing and she's living among students that are at least 12 years her junior. Residents came about to naming Lori the elevator woman. Some sources said the psycho elevator woman. She was known to just ride the elevator for extra extended periods of time, up and down, day and night. And I'm sure that made people very uneasy, you know, because you just don't know what she might be capable of.

[Michael]

Yeah, anytime there's, like, some weird occurrence, like, just listen to your gut. Like, you know, you get on an elevator, somebody's been there, like, for hours. Be like, okay, I'm. I'll take the next one.

[Allison]

I'll take the stairs this time. So while she seemed to be gaining weight, some students believe that Lori was bulimic or struggling with some sort of eating disorder. Most days, she was seeing wearing gray sweatpants. She had very greasy hair, and she was suspected of stealing from other students. After an appointment with a university psychiatrist, she was prescribed lithium carbonate for manic depression. She was also started on an experimental drug called Chlo chloepramide to control her ocd. But then, once again, she stopped her visits in March. So on March 12, Lori was reportedly seen at a lab at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics building. And then three days later, a quantity of arsenic and lead were reported stolen. So two days later, Lori was arrested on March 14, and she was charged with shoplifting four wigs and two hair clips from JCPenney and Madison. And after she told officials that she was a University of Arizona students, she then gave her address for the home that she once shared with Russell. She listed her weight at 130 pounds, despite the fact that this was 33 pounds more than what her driver's license indicated. So as May of 1988 rolled around, more threatening phone calls came through, including a call back to her Tucson ex boyfriend. And this came through on May 9. And she threatened to stab him as well as his children.

[Michael]

Jeez.

[Allison]

And she used a voice that sounded like the Wicked witch of the West. So very unsettling.

[Michael]

Yeah, it's. It's like, man, if there's so many points where it could have been like, please, it's like, baker actor or something.

[Allison]

I know. It's. It's really sa that it's a failure. So Arizona prosecutors, they were planning on indicting Lori on May 18, and, gosh, I wish they would have, because Nick Corwin would still be here today, and so many other people would not be traumatized by what Lori ends up doing. So she was going to be indicted for the stabbing threat because she was threatening to kill her ex boyfriend and his family. But they wanted to gather all sorts of other things because they were hoping that they could have her held without bail, and they just didn't get all this information in time. So on May 15, this is a time when the university was quiet because many students had gone home for the summer. And she was found by a staff member at the Towers on a fifth floor garbage room, curled up in a fetal position. She was dripping with sweat. She was in the corner of the room, and she had a plastic bag pulled over her head. I mean, it's like, why wasn't 911 called? Why wasn't she taken in like you said, to be? Baker acted. Nothing happened there because police believe that she left Madison at 4am on May 16. So four days later, it is now the day where this case began. It is Friday, May 20, 1988, and Lori left her home in Glencoe. She left in a luxury Toyota, and she was armed with three guns that she had purchased from Marksman, as well as packages of food that had been laced with arsenic, because, remember, she was seen at that hospital, and then all of a sudden, this arsenic went missing. So she delivered this poisoned food to two fraternities on Northwestern's campus, as well as to some of her babysitting clients as well as other people that she was acquainted with. It seemed like she just picked them on random. And meanwhile, Russell and her psychiatrist later received packages of tainted juice in the mail. So at about 9am she stopped by the Winnetka home of Padraig and Marion Roosh. This is her former babysitting clients. And it seems like she was upset with them because they had called her the week before, and they let her know, we are no longer going to need your services because we're relocating to New York. It wasn't even anything personal to her. So after she picked up two of their youngest children, rather than taking them to the fair like she promised, she drove to Ravinia Elementary School in Highland Park. And this is where her former sister in law, Susan Taylor's son, was enrolled. So after leaving the two boys that she had her babysitting clients in the car, she entered the school and she started a small fire in one of the corridors. But it was quickly extinguished by a teacher. And by this point in time, Lori had already left that school. So from there, she drove to a Jewish daycare center where Susan's daughter attended. But when she tried to get into the building with a can of gasoline, thankfully she was stopped. But she did leave behind a Mickey Mouse cup that had been laced with poison. So Lori then drove the two children back to their home. This was at about 10:15 in the morning. She took them down to the basement. And when the mother was coming down to see what the hell was going on, Lori had set the basement stairwell on fire and she fled from the home.

[Michael]

Wow, man. She wants to just burn kids. Yes, that's crazy.

[Allison]

So the mother and her two children were thankfully able to escape through the basement window. And it's ironic that she's targeting children because that's who she was connecting with. It was adults that she just did not have any sort of connection with. So I find that strange that she would harm some, you know, an age range of children that she was connecting with. So when firefighters extinguished the fire at the Rush home, Lori was already on her way to Hubbard Woods Elementary School in Winnetka, where Susan's third child went to school, but had been away on a field trip that day. So once inside the school, she encountered a six year old little boy in the hallway. This was just a little boy that happened to be in the hallway. This is Robert Trussman. And she pushed him into a nearby restroom and she shot him in the chest with her Beretta pistol. So after he was transferred to Evanston Hospital, he thankfully was able to recover. She attempted to shoot two additional boys with her Smith and Wesson revolver, but thank goodness the gun jammed so they went off and ran for help. And she threw the weapon into the trash can along with spare ammunition for that gun. So Lori then walked into a second grade classroom on at random. And here is where 24 children had been working in groups on a bicycle safety test, because we're talking about second graders here. So armed with two handguns, she told the substitute teacher, 29 year old Amy Moses, to gather all of the children into the corner. And Amy refused and she tried to disarm Lori. And this is when she pulled out a handgun and she opened fire. So according to Winnetka Police Chief Herbert Tim, had Amy followed her instructions, all of the children could have gotten shots.

[Michael]

That's a hero. It's a good instincts right away. It's like she just wants to collect them to shoot them all right?

[Allison]

Exactly. She wanted them all condensed in the classroom. So tragically, five of the children were struck. And while four were still alive but wounded, eight year old Nick Corwin sadly died from a single shot to the heart after he was taken to Nearland or, excuse me, nearby Highland Park Hospital. So, so sad. So the other four children were taken to Evanston Hospital in critical condition, each with a single gunshot to their body. 8 year old Lindsay Clark Fisher had arrived with such little blood that the doctors immediately performed a relatively rare blood transfusion that went in directly to her heart. Wow, I had never even heard of that. Seven year old Catherine Miller and eight year old Mark Taboric, like Mark, or excuse me, Robert Chaussman they were admitted to the ICU following their surgeries. Meanwhile, eight year old Peter Monroe was reported to be in serious but stable condition at Highland Park Hospital. So after Lori fled from the school in her car, she noticed that police were in route to the school. So she suddenly changed her direction. Direction. But then she wasn't able to leave that way either because roads were closed for a funeral procession. So she's now attempting to drive in reverse down a nearby street. And this is when she crashed into a tree after she took a corner too quickly. So she's abandoning her wrecked car and she removed her blood stained shorts and she tied a blue garbage bag around her waist. And with her two remaining handguns she walked through the nearby woods. And this happened at about 11am she suddenly comes upon a random home. She had never seen this home before. This is where the Andrew family lived at 2 Kent Road. So when she left herself inside, she came upon 20 year old Phil Andrew. And he was actually home for the first day from summer break from the University of Illinois. And there at that school he was a member of the swim team. And he is just sitting at his kitchen table with his mom. They're probably catching up because she's so happy that her son's home from college. And all of a sudden this strange woman just bursts through their door holding a gun in each hand, garbage bag

[Michael]

wrapped around her, probably looking insane. I'm sure.

[Allison]

They said specifically that she had this wild look in her eyes. So while she's holding a gun in each hand, Lori is telling them that she had been raped by a man in her car and that she'd shot him. And she claimed that because the police hadn't realized that she had done so in self defense, they were after her. So they're completely unaware of this shooting that happened at nearby Hubbard Woods Elementary. So Phil is trying to help this woman, of course, and he's reassuring her. Oh, don't worry, the police will understand once they get to the bottom of the story. And he was assuming that she was refusing to hand over the guns because she was so traumatized from this alleged sexual attack.

[Michael]

What a hard situation to be in. Because if I know if a woman came in and said the same thing in this house, it'd probably be very similar. It'd be like y, you're, it'll be okay, don't worry. And I would understand holding, but at the same time you're worried about your family. You're like, okay, you guys go in the other room, we'll be Here together. Oh, scary.

[Allison]

So Mrs. Andrew gave Lori a pair of their daughter's pants to wear. And while she was putting them on, Phil was able to take one of the guns, the Beretta. And at his suggestion, Lori spoke with her mom on the phone, and she told her that she had done something terrible and that the police were involved. So when Phil took the phone from her, he talked to Edith, and he explained that, you know, this alleged rape happened. He said, can you please come here and pick your daughter up? And she just said, ma, I can't. I don't have a car.

[Michael]

Okay.

[Allison]

So when Mr. Andrew came home, they all tried to encourage Lori to please give up her remaining gun. And when Lori called her mom now a second time, and he is trying to ask Edith, please have your daughter give us this gun. He indicated that Edith seemed very disinterested before she remarked that she hoped her daughter would get home safely. And then she hung up the phone.

[Michael]

Well, hope she gets home. Talk to you later. Bye Bye.

[Allison]

What? So it was during the second phone call, 90 minutes after Lori had come into the Andrews home uninvited when she allowed Phil's parents to leave unharmed. So they ran out of the house yelling, we need help. There is a woman in our house that has a gun. Phil is now trying to get this gun, this one remaining gun away from Lori, and this is when. Now, he got shot in the chest, of course. So he managed to make it out the back door before he collapsed, and thankfully, he was rescued by paramedics. He was taken to Highland Park Hospital, and thankfully, he also survived his injuries.

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[Allison]

So now left alone inside this Andrew's home. And I'm talking. This is a big house. I looked it up. I don't know if there were any renovations done. It's at least five and a half million dollars. It's expansive. So Lori is walling herself inside of this house, and she's maintaining a standoff with police for hours because she came upon this house at 11 in the morning. So during negotiations, her parents as well as Russell were brought in in an effort for her to surrender.

[Michael]

And what time is it now?

[Allison]

It's.

[Michael]

I missed it.

[Allison]

It all ends at around 7pm okay. So instead she went into an upstairs bedroom, she placed her.32 revolver in her mouth, and she pulled the trigger. And this is where the assault team found her body at about 7pm and when they entered the house, they didn't know that she'd be deceased because maybe there's good insulation in this house. They could not hear that gunshot go off. So she was wearing a University of Arizona Medical school T shirt and it was imprinted with a skeleton that was posed as the thinker. So the school shooting at Hubbard woods elementary was one of the first to be featured for weeks in the 24 hour news cycle in the wake of her rampage and her death. And there were so many questions as to how a woman with such an extensive history of mental illness had been able to go on and legally purchase three guns.

[Michael]

Yeah, bad, bad, bad news.

[Allison]

Terrible. So the coverage of this case was so wide and extensive that this, you know, whole debacle is sometimes referred to as the first school shooting. So tragically, what seemed unthinkable back in 1988 has sadly become commonplace today, with a school shooting now occurring every single week in America.

[Michael]

Gee, that sucks, man.

[Allison]

I read that multiple times because I'm like, surely I cannot be reading this right?

[Michael]

That's insane. Like, we're. Oh, man.

[Allison]

So as of December 13, 2025, there had been at least 75 shootings in the United States. In 2025, 43 were on college campuses, while 32 happened in K through 12 schools. One happened, I'm not sure what year, several years ago on our college campus, Northern Illinois University. It's just, it's terrifying that you think when you send your children to school, they're going to be safe. And that's just simply not the case.

[Michael]

Now, if you're not from America, you probably don't know that our children are trained in safety drills for active shooters. So now they train, okay, code red. And they all get into a corner in their rooms and the teacher locks the door and covers it in case there's a shooter out there. So now they're all trained just like fire drills and tornado drills and all those sort of things. Kids in America are trained for active shooters. Yeah, it's sad, but also, also good in case it does happen. So, I mean, we have to do it, but it's sad that we have to do it.

[Allison]

So in these instances, I was talking about at least 31 people died because of it and more than 100 were injured. And that was in 2025 for, oh,

[Michael]

just through the year.

[Allison]

Yeah.

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Yes.

[Allison]

So according to the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, each year more than 4, 300 children and teens are shot and killed, with more than 17, 000 are shot and wounded. An estimated 3 million children in the United States are exposed to shooting each year. And firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens. Not crazy.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

So during Lori Dan's rampage, in addition to killing 8 year old Nick Corwin, she shot seven others and attempted to shoot two other children before her gun jammed. Each of the seven others who recovered and you know, of course their families, they also received extensive support to help them cope because it wasn't just their wounds. They were traumatized by what happened that day. More than a thousand mourners crowded a synagogue in Northfield for Nick Corwin's funeral, which was held later that May. And Nick had been born on April 9, 1980, to parents Joel and Linda Corwin in Chicago. He was said to be an athlete who was known for his sportsmanship and his abilities.

[Michael]

About our age then, yeah, he was

[Allison]

just a little bit older than us. So many parents within the community began to devote years of their lives to campaigning for gun control policy. Phil Andrews himself, this is the 20 year old who was shot from. You know, he's on summer break from the University of Illinois. He gave interviews about gun control from his hospital bed. And he later became an active or, excuse me, he became active in local and state gun control organizations as the executive director of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. And when he was shot as at 20 years old, his goals at that point in time, he just wanted to be the best swimmer that he could be at his university. But when he recovered, he went on to have a successful career within the FBI. So this whole trauma just changed the director trajectory. That's the word I was trying to come up with of what he wanted to do with his life.

[Michael]

Pretty incredible.

[Allison]

So sadly, what happened in May of 1988 in the peaceful community of Winnetka was a foreshadowing of things to come as school shootings have tragically become commonplace. Of course, I'm speaking on the United States. So Phil Andrew is frustrated that elective officials continue to do relatively nothing to take significant steps in preventing school shootings by keeping guns out of the hands of people like Lori, people that are struggling with their mental health. People who have a history of violent behavior. Laurie is no doubt the person who walked into Russell Dan's apartment and nearly killed him by stabbing him in the chest with an ice pick. And she was calling people, she was threatening them. She was just having this alarming behavior and nothing was being done about it. So Phil's focus is very practical about things that, you know, doing a universal background check that identify red flags that take guns away from dangerous people. He's not suggesting that no one has a gun. He's suggesting that people with a history of violent behavior or mental illness not legally get their hands on guns.

[Michael]

I don't think that's too crazy.

[Allison]

So after Lori's rampage, her family who were distraught over this tragedy were unwilling to talk to reporters. Murders. Meanwhile, Russell Dan made a short appearance on national television and then he quickly disappeared from the public eye. I think he just wanted to just disconnect himself. So Lori's psychiatrist was cooperative with investigators and indicated that she had never made any mention of thoughts of violence. But of course we know that she would go and see her psychiatrist for blips at a time. She'd go, she'd get her prescription and then she'd peace out.

[Michael]

Right, Right.

[Allison]

So Lori's parents were spending a lot of their time in Florida and maybe they just weren't aware of the extent of how their daughter's mental health was going downhill or just terrible.

[Michael]

Closing their eyes to it, like putting blinders on.

[Allison]

Yeah.

[Michael]

Being like, oh, our life is perfect, we don't have to think about our daughter.

[Allison]

Right. I mean, the fact that Edith was set, you know, was supposedly got this phone call and it's like your daughter is in our house with guns. Well, I hope she gets home safe. Like, like that's.

[Michael]

Maybe she had five or six martinis since it wasn't going to drive. I don't know, who knows?

[Allison]

So Lori left no suicide note behind. It's likely that she hadn't planned on killing herself that day. And she only did so when she found herself cornered. Today we can just take a moment to remember the lives that were forever changed on May 20, 1988 in Winnetka, Illinois, when Nick, or this is eight year old Nick Corwin, he left the safety of his parents home that Friday morning. And no one could have ever imagined that he wouldn't have come home safely like he always did every single day. Before Lori's rampage, which could have ended in so many more lives lost, there had been a slew of warning signs that had accumulated over the years. She hadn't just come out of nowhere. Her behavior had raised alarms and her instability was noticed. But sadly, time and time again, responsibility was just passed along. It was minimized or it was just, just blatantly ignored until it was too late. So for the families affected, especially the children who survived that day who were in that classmate room and watched their 8 year old classmate die, I mean, how do you recover from that?

[Michael]

Never be the same.

[Allison]

Their trauma didn't just end when police arrived. It followed them into adulthood, into their memories and nightmares, and into a life that was forever divided by before and after. Because your, your sense of safety changes after something like that happens. You no longer just take things for granted. So you think any situation become, can become violent. If you're sitting in a classroom, a second grade classroom in 1988 and suddenly your classmate is shot and killed and five of your other classmates are shots, your sense of safety dissolves. It's gone.

[Michael]

Some lady holding two guns and acting erratically.

[Allison]

Yes. So these were real people whose lives were forever changed and the safety that they may have previously taken for granted, it was stol. Was gone. If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out for help by calling or texting the 988 suicide and Christless lifeline by simply calling or texting 988 and help is available 24 7. And that is a sad story of the rampage of Lori Dan and the murder of Nick Corwin.

[Michael]

I got a bunch of stuff to say. So number one 988 isn't just for suicide, huh? It's for crisis.

[Grocery Outlet Announcer]

Crisis.

[Michael]

So anybody like mental health, you can call them, it sounds like and get some help and at least give you some resources and things and that, that's very helpful. But another thing, stories like these, you know, we talk about Nick Corwin, poor kid, yeah, Terrible, horrible. So sorry for his family. But all those other kids too. The freaking kid that got shot in the chest in a bathroom or whatever.

[Allison]

Like and then the two that nearly lost their lives, she pointed the gun at them and then it jammed.

[Michael]

Yeah, like that's all, that's trauma. That's instant trauma, lifelong. It's going to be with them forever. And like all those kids classroom that had a crazy lady with guns come in and want to shoot them all and killed one of their classmates. Like that's gonna stick with all them. They're gonna have ptsd like forever. Like just like these are the things we kind of gloss over. Like when they have a news bulletin, they're like, oh, and Several people were injured, but nobody died.

[Allison]

It's like, yeah, that's not the point. They're the trauma that's associated. We just assume, well, the wound is healed, so you're healed, you're fine.

[Michael]

Right. You know, that's not the case.

[Allison]

It doesn't end there. I mean, look at. At Phil Andrew. He was 20 years old at that time. He was focusing on a swimming career and he was going to college, not. He went on to have a job with the FBI. And he was a huge advocate for gun control. So, like, his life changed after that moment.

[Michael]

Yeah, he took it and tried to spin it into something good, like what a strong, strong young man he was and is now and all that. But. And then the other thing, gun control. Right. So we're in the United States. For those of you outside the U.S. it's in our Constitution. It's something that we have the right to bear arms. So I think in America, we'll always have the right to have guns, it seems like. Right. But at the same time, I think we all can agree that people that are mentally unstable should not have access to any gun ever. Ever. And if you don't agree with that before you start talking, you can go to hell and, like, never listen to us again. If you think that everybody should just have guns all the time, I don't think there's. I think there's maybe a minute portion of the population, and they're probably not even listening to this because I think we have some very, like, just smart and good people listening to us. If you're one of those people, like, everybody should have guns. Always, like, go to hell, like, then never listen to us.

[Allison]

I can't imagine what I was going to say when I was trying to rudely interrupt you was. I can't imagine that anyone with. Would argue with that. I mean, Lori was blatantly spiraling out of control. She should have never. And honestly, her parents knew that she had gone and gotten a gun. I mean, she shouldn't. She should have never had access to guns.

[Michael]

I mean, Lori's parents suck ass. Like, step up to the plate. If you would have stepped up to the plate and given her some help. I. I get that in the 80s it was hard, right? It was hard. Maybe people. People, you know, sweep things under the rug, whatever it is. But there were so many signs, and you guys just closed your eyes to it all, and now kids are dead. One kid's dead, and several people are injured and affected forever because you didn't want to open your Eyes to the possibility.

[Allison]

Yeah, it's hard to face challenges sometimes, but you can't bury your head in the sand and just expect that things are going to go away because they're not.

[Michael]

Right. Right. And so many opportunities. Like a lot of times with the man that does this, it's like, like, okay, they snap and they just go on a rampage. Like she had, I mean, so much, but with that rancid meat and the urination and just like all those crazy, like it was years and of stuff.

[Allison]

Well, I mean, she was curled up in the fetal position about a week before this happened in the garbage room of the University of Madison. And she had a plastic bag over

[Michael]

her head, ice pick stabbing her ex husband. Like that was just swept under the rug. We forget about that. Like there's all these signs. It almost seemed like none of it happened. And here in the US all the politicians do their best to divide everybody. But we feel, I think we all feel like for the most part, 95% of Americans all agree there should be background checks and people with any sort of mental health, bad mental health history should not have access to guns. Because that's just a good idea in general. Right. So the problem is that politicians, like, they're trying to take away your guns. They're going to take them.

[Grocery Outlet Announcer]

That's.

[Michael]

It's not the case. Right. So I don't know.

[Allison]

I think we cover that one case, the Lost Boys of Bucks county in Pennsylvania where four boys lost their lives and it was a kid that had a gun and he had major mental health issues.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Allison]

And it's like, why did he have access to a gun?

[Michael]

And you know, then there's another case of like, should people be able to get a gun the same day? It's like, probably not. You know, like when if you failed to plan on your hunting trip and you didn't get a gun ahead of time, like just maybe you got to wait a couple of weeks, go on the next hunt. Hunting thing. I don't know. Or I guess if you're fearful for your life and somebody's like threatening your family, you want access to a gun quickly.

[Allison]

And I understand that.

[Michael]

I get that. I get that. Maybe there should be a special like registration through your police department or something. You know, we can figure it out. We're, we're Americans. We're enterprising. Like, that's what I always say when people are like, oh, I don't go to the self checkout lanes because it takes away jobs. I'm like, we'll figure it out. We'll figure out more jobs. Just. It's easier for me. I don't have to ask. Hey, did you find everything all right? Okay. It's like, I'm just gonna scan and get the hell out, so. So I don't know. I think we're. We're enterprising Americans. We figured out a lot of stuff.

[Allison]

Yeah. But just a very, very sad case. And I always want to make sure we remember at the heart of what the story we're telling is that real human beings were affected by this case, and. And Nick Corwin lost his life that day. I never want to gloss over that, that we're just, like, reading this fictional story, because we're not. You know, this. This happened to people. People's lives were forever changed after this day. Poor Nick Corwin's, you know, parents. Parents. Their son never walked back into their lives again. And that is so heartbreaking. And we have two children that are in school. They're in, you know, 11th grade and eighth grade, and sometimes we get alerts that they're in a lockdown, and it's terrifying. Terrifying. Every day we let our kids leave this house to go to the school, there's, like, a niggling sense of fear. Not every day for me, but there's certain moments when I might be folding laundry, thinking, like, oh, I hope they're doing okay there, because we have no idea.

[Michael]

And we're in America. There's school shootings all the time. Like, that you guys don't understand. Outside of America, there's school shootings that happen. We have no idea about because did

[Allison]

you see the statistic I read a week, every week? 73 years, 75 over the course of 2025 as of December 13th. Statistic.

[Michael]

They used to make the move, like, the news all the time, and now they don't because it's so, like.

[Allison]

Like we're numb to it.

[Michael]

Yeah. So sad.

[Allison]

Just terrible.

[Michael]

I'll take care of each other out there, but, you know, it's all we have is each other. Right? So if you see any. Again, any history you have, any. Any mental illness issues, you're worri somebody in your family. All 988. Please, please.

[Allison]

Yeah. So thank you guys so much for listening. We truly do appreciate every single one of you for coming on over, checking us out, maybe liking us, subscribing to us, heading over to YouTube.

[Michael]

I check you out and like you all the time.

[Allison]

Thank you, Mike. I like you, too.

[Michael]

If you love Allison's meticulous research, we have every Wednesday, we come out with bonus episodes over on Patreon or Apple subscribers. Go check it out. There's like hundreds of episodes, and you can listen to your heart's content.

[Allison]

Yeah, if you're doing a project or you're doing going on a long drive and you just want to binge, that's when I listen to constant podcasts. When I just repainted our laundry room, and literally for probably five hours, I was listening to our fellow husband and wife true crime podcasts and just binging, binging, binging.

[Michael]

There's a lot of good ones out there. Go give them a shot.

[Allison]

So anyway, you guys take care of each other, Love one another, be safe, and until next time, bye.