AST Digital Magazine September 2017 AST Digital Magazine September 2017 | Page 59

FBI: Cold Case Homicide Reward – Can You Help?
“Even after 25 years, a concerned citizen doing the right thing can help us solve this case, said Lt. Jeff Padilla, an Illinois State Police
detective. “There continues to be a $50,000 reward offered in this case.”
August 23rd marked the 25th anniversa-
ry of the tragic kidnapping and murder
of Tammy Zywicki, but the FBI and the
Illinois State Police have never stopped
searching for the young woman’s kill-
er—and they are actively pursuing new
investigative strategies that could help
solve the case.
was seen near Zywicki’s vehicle, and the trucker
was described as a white male about 40 years
old, over six feet tall, with dark, bushy hair.
On August 23, 1992, Zywicki was a 21-year-old
college senior who played sports and was pas-
sionate about photography.
She had driven her brother to college in Evan-
ston, Illinois, and was on her way to Iowa, where
she was in her final year at Grinnell College.
Her mother called the Illinois State Police that
night to report that her daughter had never ar-
rived.
That afternoon, Zywicki’s car—a 1985 Pontiac
T1000—was found abandoned by a state trooper
on Interstate 80 near Utica, Illinois.
At the time, it was reported that a tractor/trailer
(Investigators have not given up on solving the college stu-
dent’s murder, continuing to explore new leads. Courtesy of
CBS Chicago and YouTube)
Nine days later, Zywicki’s body, stabbed
and possibly strangled, was found
wrapped in a sheet and blanket and
bound in duct tape—nearly 500 miles
away in Missouri.
“A lot of people are still passionate about this
case,” said Special Agent Amanda Becker, who
59