Documents obtained by NBC 5 Investigates reveal new details about a decades-old unsolved murder in suburban Morton Grove – information the victims’ families said they had never seen.
On Sept. 5, 1979, 17-year-old high school seniors Susie Ovington and Eyvonne Bender were headed to a shopping center when they disappeared. Hours later, their bodies were found in a nearby Cook County Forest Preserve, both shot multiple times.
Their families still feel the heartbreak as if it happened yesterday.
“I’m sorry but it’s been hell,” said Eyvonne’s mother Irene Bender. “She was my baby and all this happened because some stupid idiot out there - and I’m sorry if I use those words - that had to take her life for no meaning, for anything. No reason.”
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In the 44 years since the murders, the families of both girls said they’ve heard virtually nothing from Morton Grove police.
“We maybe hear from them once a year, if that, or I might call up and say, ‘What's going on? Anything going on? But I still get the same story over and over again,” said Eyvonne’s sister Sheri Peterson. She said her family still holds out hope for a break in the case.
“We're not giving up. Absolutely not giving up. We hope that one day we get clarity, especially for my mom and dad,” Peterson said.
Some of the girls’ high school classmates have since taken up the search for answers, offering detectives their time, knowledge and even money, in hopes of finally cracking the cold case that haunts their hometown.
“I know it's solvable. We just need the police to help us,” said Tom Sprague, one of the classmates involved in the effort. He said he’s attempted to connect the Morton Grove police with individuals who may have information on the case, and even offered to pay for more advanced DNA testing, to little avail.
“If I had a nickel for every time I had someone say to me, ‘Tom, yeah, I’ve reached out to the police department to give them information and they never called me back…’” Sprague said. “I don't think they care. I really don't. If you cared, you would do more. If you cared, you'd be responding to the families’ inquiries.”
Morton Grove police have declined multiple requests for an interview. The department said they understand the families’ frustration, noting the case has been reviewed several times over the years, and investigators started fresh again in 2020. Since the 44th anniversary of the crime last month, police added that the renewed attention on the case has resulted in 25 new tips, and they encouraged anyone with information to come forward.
But in order to find out what specific steps have been taken to solve this crime, NBC 5 Investigates filed two Freedom of Information Act requests.
The first was to the Illinois State Police, which does DNA testing for local law enforcement agencies across the state. Through that request, NBC 5 Investigates obtained about a dozen reports, dating back to 2005.
A report in 2008 shows the first mention of a suspect, whose name was redacted. An RC bottle and two cheek swabs were compared to DNA found under Susie’s fingernails: not a match.
The reports show another flurry of activity in 2011 – Morton Grove police sent clothing, fingerprints, hair samples and more to the state lab. No hits yet again. What’s more, one report noted that hair can only be compared within six years of the offense. By then, the murders were already well past that window.
The reports are just one small piece of the puzzle, leaving the girls’ loved ones with more questions than answers. Still, they said it was more than they had ever seen.
“Never. I've never seen anything, the Ovingtons, the Benders have never seen that. Absolutely not,” said Sprague.
“Do they still have the DNA?” Peterson asked. “Do they still have all this material? But we never received anything, belongings and stuff, so I don't even know if the police still have it in storage. We really don't know.”
The second open records request NBC 5 Investigates filed was to Morton Grove for their records on the case. That request was denied, with the village saying the records are exempt because disclosure would obstruct the ongoing criminal investigation.
On Wednesday, NBC 5 filed a lawsuit in Cook County to compel Morton Grove to turn over the reports, to see what’s been done, as the families continue to search for answers.
“There's something very disturbing going on here, the fact that you have to file a lawsuit to get this information after 44 years,” Sprague said.
“I say, let's do it,” Peterson said of the suit. “And let's get some answers here. And you know, I don't want no sugarcoating and saying, ‘We're working on it’ - well, show me some proof that you're working on it. We don't get anything from them.”
Anyone with information on the case can call (847) 663-3815 to speak directly to a detective or submit a tip anonymously via the hotline at (847) 663-3828. Tips can also be shared by emailing tipshotline@mortongroveil.org or tips@cookcountycrimestoppers.org.
