← Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Lane Bryant Bloodbath & The Killer Who’s STILL Out There | Tinley Park Five
00:10:49
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- [00:00]
A
Foreign. Hey, everyone, I'm Ashley Banfield, and this is Drop Dead Serious. And if you haven't tuned into the podcast for a hot minute, something happened this week that has changed the dynamic of our studio. I know you probably know about Atlas and our Atlas Cam, my Trusty partner of 15 and a half years, who was always at my feet in the studio, so much so he needed his own came. I lost Atlas this week, and it's been a really, really hard week. And I know it's been a hard week for you, too, because I've been reading your comments, and they are so heartfelt, I can't even tell you the number of people who said that they were outside running errands and just began to cry outside of a Starbucks because of this news and this post. And they didn't know me, and they didn't know Atlas. But for whatever reason, he got through to them. And I'll tell you what, he got through to me. I've just never loved anything as much in my life as that little dog. So I am so sorry he's not going to be on the podcast anymore. I have arranged over here in the studio just a little memory of him, a little shrine. It's his dog bowl. I haven't emptied it yet. And his collar, which still smells like him. And his leash is really dirty because I use that leash for, I think, more than 10 years. And his favorite cookies, they're Little Mother Hubbard cookies. I don't. I'm not sponsoring them. They're not sponsoring me. It's just that these cookies, he loved these cookies. He freaking loved them. And so he got so many of them every day, including on the day that he died. Right before he died, I gave him about six. And the vet gave him an ice cream sundae, which was very sweet. So I'm sorry he won't be part of the podcast anymore, but I wanted you to know because I know you care. So in this episode, it was Groundhog Day, February 2, 2008, just outside of Chicago. A man claiming to be a delivery driver walked into a Lane Bryant clothing store for women, pulled out a handgun, and forced two shoppers and a store clerk and the store manager all into the back room. He bound them all with duct tape and he made them lie face down on the floor. And then when two more shoppers came into the store, he did the same thing to them. He bound them with duct tape in the back room, and he made them lie flat, face down. Somehow, the manager was able to sneak out her cell phone and place a call to 91 1. And that call has been preserved for more than 17 and a half years. Now, here's what it sounded like.
- [03:03]
B
91 1EM.
- [03:20]
A
Now, you might be thinking that somebody who would make six women lie face down bound with duct tape was going to rob the place, right? This was early in the day, too, which was weird. She don't usually have a lot of money in the store early in the day, and most people do credit card purchases anyway in these clothing stores. So it seemed weird, but maybe he was after whatever was in their purses. That's what you would think, but that is not what happened here. Within minutes of that 911 call, the gunman started shooting and he shot all six of these women execution style, by which I mean he shot each of them in the head in cold blood, one after the other. And in actuality, he really shot five directly in the head. And all of those women died. But the clerk, the clerk managed to move her head at the very last moment, and instead the bullet grazed her neck. And so miraculously, that clerk survived. And her description, as well as the suspect's voice in the background of that 911 call, those were the only real clues that investigators had to go on. And they still are. Because even though police were on the scene in almost no time, literally within minutes, that shooter got away. To this day, they are looking for an African American male between 59 and 6ft tall with a stocky build. That's it. That's all they got. But they do know this. On the day of the killings, that killer wore a black ski cap with braids sticking out. My next guest knows this story a whole lot better than he'd like to. Kevin Collins was the very first paramedic to arrive on the scene, and he gave me his first national interview since the crime happened almost two decades ago. And earlier on my NewsNation show, I talked to Kevin as well as Charlie Min, a filmmaker whose documentary called who Killed these Women? The Tinley Park 5 is set to be released in February. And the description that Kevin gave about arriving on the scene of that massacre is nothing short of chilling. You can see it in his eyes and you can hear it in his voice. He's still shattered by it 17 years later. Here's my conversation with the very first paramedic on the scene, Kevin Collinge and documentary filmmaker Charlie Minn. Kevin, if I can start with you. First of all, thank you so much for coming on the program to speak. After all of these years, I know this still can't be easy for you. Can you take me back to that day and tell me what you saw?
- [06:25]
B
Too much. That was a nice sunny day, actually. We were on a non related call getting ready to transport to a hospital and we were diverted over to the Lane Bryant store. Initially we didn't realize that we had multiple victims. My partner and I were under the impression that we had one victim that needed to be stabilized. And when we pulled up to the store and I stepped out, I was greeted by three officers coming out the front door, looking around, trying to find someone, which I realized at that time I was in a active shooter situation. And one of them beckoned out that we had five ladies shot in the store and he needed help now. So I gathered up the equipment and I went in. So that was my day.
- [07:12]
A
And when you went in, what was your initial impression of the scene that you encountered?
- [07:17]
B
Oh, Lord. Which one? I mean, when I opened the front door, there was nobody there. The entire door, the entire place was. It just was dark and quiet. You couldn't hear anything. And I could see a light underneath the door in the back of the store and I made my way there. And of course we don't run too much. We do a fast walk. So keeping my head on a swivel, looking around and got back and opened the door and well, it's difficult to talk about what I seen there. Initially we only seen five patients because one was around the corner behind a desk and they were all face down, their hands were restrained and they had used clothing articles to use them to try to use as blindfolds. And there was a police officer speaking to one survivor who was just inconsolable. Her voice still rings in my head pretty clear to this day. That's part of the reason why my partner isn't here right now. You just can't get it out of your head.
- [08:29]
A
I can't Even imagine even 17 and a half years later, you know, just trying to process the fact that they haven't caught the killer. Charlie, to that end, in your documentary work, have you ever been able to track down the survivor because she seems as though she's anonymous?
- [08:47]
C
That's the big, big thing for me right now, Ashley, is to get the lone survivor to talk to me. And I'm just here to listen. This case, I'm desperate right now. This case needs a spark and I think the lone survivor can deliver that spark. I think she needs to be re interviewed. A new set of eyes should go on this thing. She's 50 years old today. She's a Caucasian female. Her name is Marty. If anyone knows who she is, please reach out to me. The website's right there. Thetinley5.com that's the number five. And I just want to listen. I just want to give her the fairest chance there is to tell her story so that this could really spark interest in this case. Because, Ashley, this case has gone dormant. And this is the largest unsolved mass shooting in modern day America. I have no confidence in Tinley Park PD to solve this. It's been 18 years of garbage. It's not solved.
- [09:43]
A
Well, you know, for Kevin's sake and obviously for the women who were murdered and the one who survived, I sure hope that it will get a second look. I just want to remind our audience who killed these women. The Tinley Park 5 is set to be released in February. Let's stay close on this. If the tips start coming in, I've seen it happen, guys. I've seen these cases solved, even two decades later. If you have any information regarding The Tinley Park 5, please contact the Tinley park police. You can contact the FBI. They know this case as well. Make sure you're subscribed though, because I don't want you to miss any updates. I feel like this cold case, this could get solved. With all of this renewed attention, with the documentary coming out and now with this paramedic speaking for the first time, that could generate a lot of tips. And so subscribe. We will keep our eyes on this case and we'll keep you updated on what happens next. I'm Ashley Banfield. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for watching. And remember, the truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead seriously.