A body found Saturday in the Chicago River has been identified as a 26-year-old man who went missing earlier this week after attending a concert at the Salt After a night of barhopping, Homan headed home at around 10 p.m. with a friend. The 21-year-old finance student rarely partied since he was dedicated to the university's soccer team, but he decided to have a few drinks for the new year. And are these demented n demonic bastards taunting police by drawing smiley faces near where they send the bodies to a watery grave? #chicago #psa #staysafe #missingperson #strangerdanger #chicagotiktok #freeride, After people filled his comments section with their own stories of being approached late at night, Waks began posting that the unsolicited car rides were the missing link that connected a string of fatal drownings in the Chicago River to a serial killer. Its a trope in countless shows and movies about serial killers. In most of these cases, we still dont know what killed the person. Waks declined to be interviewed by Rolling Stone, but he said over email that his plan is to hand over his findings to the proper authorities who can commit the time required to pursue these cases alongside the detectives with whom I was in contact. And he says that his videos created a sense of connection for those who saw them. Here's a state ranking on which we Illinoisans won't mind being near the bottom: According to the website safehome.org, our state ranks 35th in the nation when it comes to break-ins. The alcohol level and the description of his behavior do not fit., Next, take the coroner's report, which shows the manner of death as "undetermined.". Halfway through the game, Hurley called hisfiance, ClaireMahoney, pictured above, and said he wanted to leave. The area had been searched repeatedly in the weeks before his body was discovered, but no one had seen Booth. They can act recklessly because they know there will be no repercussions. Smiley Face Killer. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. In the majority of the cases, the victims were successful students and athletes who disappeared after a night out drinking with friends, and they were ultimately found dead in a body of water. Irreverently, we are more than just journalists who enjoy our work. And that means a nearly two-decade-old mystery with suburban roots is back in the national spotlight this weekend. Trump All But Confesses to Mishandling Classified Docs on Fox News When we put out whos doing this and why, I dont think [the FBI] will have any option but to get involved, he said. WebWho Is the Smiley Face Killer? Welcome to the team yall, lets get to work., Replying to @drinksbywild I cracked the case. New clues in alleged 'Smiley Face Killer' murders - FOX 32 Mahoney said she drove around for an hour before returning home, thinking Hurley got another ride, and that when she got back, Hurley was still gone. He went on to say that each city has its own unique symbol. Im a freelance SEO editor and a freelance content writer. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! His body was discovered 2 months later on a Lake Michigan beach in Gary, Indiana. They suspect a serial killer or killers are responsible for the deaths of a number of young men who have been discovered in water bodies in multiple Midwestern states between the late 1990s and the 2010s. Dr. Wecht also noted that the medical examiner did not find fluid in the lungs or in the chest cavities, but a small amount of sand was found in the larynx. Breaking down Chicago #NoahEnos pt1 A Chicago resident sent me some observations about the SFK murders in Chicago. And the police say, The medical examiner isnt calling it a homicide, so were not going to make it a homicide. This type of coordination can pose challenges not only at the departmental level but also at the jurisdictional level, as cases where victims are found in rivers often require collaboration between state and local agencies. Welzien told his friends he wanted to call it a night and go back to the hotel where they were staying. A smiley face was found spray-painted near where Homans body was found. William Fazekas, from Gary, Indiana, and Officer Joe Fisher, from Boston, as well as a number of forensic pathologists, appear in the Oxygen series. Local police theorized the men simply got too drunk, fell into the water and drowned, but Gannon, Donovan, Duarte and Gilbertson investigated their deaths as the work of an organized group of serial killers dubbed "The Smiley Face Killers." Brian Welzien, a 21-year-old college student from Elgin, vanished from outside a downtown Chicago hotel in the early morning of Jan. 1, 2000, while celebrating the new year with friends. And Im telling you, we wont stop until we do. And he appears to have kept that promise. 19 Jun 2023 01:29:48 Smiley Face Killers Photos View all photos In fact, Hurley and McNeil are part of what the now-retired Gannon, fellow former NYPD detective Anthony Duarte, and criminal-justice professor Lee Gilbertson have called an epidemic of college-educated young white men who have disappeared from nights out with friends and were later found dead in local rivers. Most recently, the Smiley Face Killer theory was invoked in February 2015in regards to the reputed drowning death of 21-year-old Shane Montgomery, who had last been seen drinking with friends the day before Thanksgiving but whose body wasnt found until right before Christmas. They say, groups of killers, sprinkled strategically throughout the nation, murder hundreds of people, mostly men. According to forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht, the statistics are so stacked against this number of men, young men, Caucasian males, found in bodies of water in that cluster of states, within that period of time that its almost mathematically impossible for these incidents to be unrelated. Officials did not implicate the band member in Homan's death. Following the simultaneous discovery of the bodies of three college-aged men in urban rivers, this occurred. And in a now-deleted Linkedin post, Foresytes CEO Stephen Eddy celebrated an increase in downloads that he linked to Waks viral attention. As for why these deaths havent been labeled homicides, Duarte points to a disconnect between the police and the medical examiners office, noting that each division is often looking to the other for cues on how to proceed. Is this the Smiley Face killer, again? Due to the absence of any significant decomposition and the fact that Welzien's internal organs were "essentially intact,"Dr. Wecht found it "hard to believe" that Welzien had been dead for almost three months. Though GHB isnt typically included on post-mortem toxicology tests, many families of suspected Smiley Face victims have either requested that the coroner test for this chemical during the autopsy or sent Gannon, Gilbertson, and Duarte samples for them to test themselves. "The vast majority of these instances appear to be alcohol-related drownings.". Brian Welzien only had a few drinks before he became violently ill and disappeared. It can't be after 77 days that you're able to see that kind of anatomic detail," saidDr. Wecht. Chicago Deaths Spark Serial Killer Questions. Among the highlights of her 2018 was helping save the life of a person who suffered an opioid overdose while being booked into the jail. And in 2010, the Center for Homicide Research issued a 12-page report listing 18 problems with the theory, including evidence some of the smiley faces linked to deaths were there long before the victim's body was recovered, a lack of evidence the victims suffered trauma, and no evidence supporting beliefs the victims were drugged before their deaths. The Smiley Face Killers -- a much-discussed, -debated and (some say) -debunked theory about a band of serial murderers targeting young men near waterways across America -- are back in the public eye, thanks to a new Oxygen television network documentary series examining the premise. The spread of moral panics has grown with the expansion of media and its influence over society when Jack the Ripper was supposedly stalking London, for example, it was in the early stages of tabloid newspapers. Hurley's mother received a copy of the autopsy report and allowed aphysician to analyze the report. At this time, Fazekas is actively pursuing new leads. One of Welzien's friends, Nick Young, stayed behind. It was a perceived monetization that turned Waks from a potential hero to TikTok controversy. Gannon says all the cases start out in a similar fashion. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices, The King Road Killings: An Idaho Murder Mystery. 18 Jun 2023 01:23:35 During the drive, Welzien started throwing up. Theres just no way that amount of alcohol caused what happened to him, said Frank Paul Paloucek, UIC Professor and Clinical Toxicologist. The "easygoing, athletic" 21-year Another confounding detail from Welzien's autopsy report is that postmortem lividity was "fixed on the posterior surface of the body. Then Came TikTok How one viral video resurfaced one of the longest-running serial killer theories and He should have had lividity on all sides, not fixed to one side," explained Dr. Gilbertson, who estimated Welzien had only been deceased for approximately 36 hours before his body was discovered. Dont take rides from strangers. https://www.youtube.com/live/w6Rc8JqNA5A?feature=share&t=1214 Cliff notes, SFK content starts around 20 min in. We want to hear it. When Gannon, Duarte, and Gilbertson publicly announced their theory about the Smiley Face Killers, in 2008, they claimed to have identified more than 40 potential murders that had been labeled accidental or undetermined drownings. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. According to Duarte, the young men who were allegedly selected as targets were all well-liked, athletic and stellar students. Kevin Gannon is a retired veteran of the NYPD homicide squad. Despite little hard evidence, some people believe these drownings aren't accidents, they're the work of the "Smiley Face Killers", First meeting between Kevin Gannon, Lee Gilbertson, and Anthony Duarte. Nothing we have found thus far supports the theory that a single serial killer is responsible for all of these heinous murders. WebNoah Enos was pulled from a body of water TODAY in Chicago and smiley face graffiti was nearby. It was that fresh," said Fazekas. But there may be other reasons that the police havent dug past accidental-drowning rulings to find evidence of the Smiley Face Killers. Press Esc to cancel. Currently, Gannon told Newsweek their database contains 681 cases that they believe are linked. People have been going missing all yesr after leaving a bar or party at night and are never heard from again. The 21-year-old finance student rarely partied since he was dedicated to the university's soccer team, but he decided to have a few drinks for the new year. Or is the Smiley Face Killers theory simply some implausibly grandiose delusion concocted by a pair of attention-starved former police detectives whove woven a fairy tale around what most experts insist is a string of accidental and unrelated drownings? Before the handcuffs, before the convictions, theres usually a person trying desperately to be believed. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Over the past 20 years, hundreds of college-aged men across the US have died as the result of undetermined or accidental drownings. Foul play is in play, said Paloucek. "I think [Welzien] was deceased before he touched any water, bottom line," said Fazekas. Both cases are still mysteries that were once thought to fit what's now called the "Smiley Face Killer" theory. The hope is kind of fading., It's fading for Rick, it's not fading for me, said Jane. Dawson also took part in the 2018 Point-in-Time Homeless Count, during which volunteers searched for, interviewed and aided unsheltered homeless people in Lake County. Six days after his disappearance,Hurley's body was foundin the Charles River, close to where he asked Mahoney to pick him up. They Took Their Daughter to the Hospital and Were Accused of Abuse While Ken brought energy and ambition to our team as CMO, the unrelated developments that have unfolded in his private life require both parties to move forward in other directions, a spokesperson for Foresyte says. #SmileyFace #TrueCrime #truecrimecommunity #Chicago . Gannon says they think they may have found the killers in Chicago. ", "When you find somebody lying on their back, that's what you will get," saidDr. Wecht. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It was the last time the 21-year-old was seen alive. #SmileyFace #TrueCrime #truecrimecommunity #Chicago . While many believe their deaths are just that accidental former NYPD detectives Kevin Gannon, Michael Donovan, Anthony Duarte and professor of criminal justice Dr. Lee Gilbertson are convinced that most of these drownings are homicides. 19 Jun 2023 00:45:41 It just doesn't fit to me. In other words, McNeill was dead before he ever hit the water. James' body, however, had almost no visible damage, which was highly suspicious because it had traveled through heavily trafficked river. Photo: Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Somethings going on, Waks continued in his video. On January 25, 2017 around 11:30 p.m., James was walking back to his apartment after a night out drinking with friends and co-workers. This is bigger than just Chicago or Austin, Waks wrote. In 2010, the Center for Homicide Research published a 12-page report that debunked the theory that there was a group of Smiley Face killers targeting young men. It alleges that 45 young men They believe Brian and as many as 200 other young men might have fallen prey to a serial killer network that today operates over the dark web. 2023 FOX Television Stations, until THU 12:00 AM CDT, Central Cook County, DuPage County, Eastern Will County, Grundy County, Kane County, Kendall County, Lake County, McHenry County, Northern Cook County, Northern Will County, Southern Cook County, Southern Will County, Lake County, Newton County, Porter County, Jasper County, 21-year-old man fatally shot in the head in Waukegan identified by coroner, Buffalo Grove Police Department welcomes K9 Mac as newest member, At least 11 killed, 63 others wounded over long weekend in Chicago, No sign yet of missing Titanic submersible after extensive search, Coast Guard says, Shocking video released in Hoffman Estates crash that left two recent grads dead. Chicago Fire Media (@CFDMedia) February 8, 2023. Who is the Smiley-Face Killer? Recorded January 3, 2023.https://www.stitcher.com/show/william-ramsey-investigates/episode/researcher-jim-smith-returns-to-discuss-updates-to-the-smiley-face-killer-phenomenon-210481475Learn more about your ad choices. That looked more as if he had been driven to that location, and dragged down to the beach, and placed into the water, said Gannon. Surveillance footage captured Booth entering the bar where the celebration took place, but there is no video evidence of him leaving. The reality is, maybe, had that person not been drunk that night or gone out, then they may not have died, Sarteschi notes, adding, Thats a hard thing to sit with., Bryanna Fox, a former FBI special agent who teaches in the department of criminology and the department of mental health, law, and policy at the University of South Florida, added that the denial can often be a form of cognitive dissonance. The matchup was between two teams with losing records, New Orleans and Chicago, but that didnt matter. Chicago Deaths Spark Serial Killer Questions. According to him, the group is actually leaving symbols behind letting you know, Yes this was us come and catch us. In other words, is the theory for realor just really dumb? Thats probably why Waks videos, which had previously focused on startup culture, started drawing millions of views and thousands of comments. And as long as they are classified as undetermined drownings, the Smiley Face Murder Theory will persist and so will Gannon, Duarte, and Gilbertson. He said, I have to say that I would say they are connected because you have so many of them in such a short period of time.. They dont even have a clue what we have, Gilbertson says of what police handling individual cases know of the trios evidence related to GHB levels, lividity, insect presence, decomposition rates, and the presence of smiley-face graffiti. But the myth lingers to feed that oddly persistent and almost universal human need to be terrified. Thats When the Alleged Scam Began, Kamala Harris on What She Learned from Tina Turner, Greta Van Fleet's Josh Kiszka Comes Out As a Member of the LGBTQ Community, Zendaya Is a Star Tennis Player Involved in a Love Triangle in 'Challengers' Trailer, Jason Isbell Unveils 2023 Ryman Residency with Guests S.G. Goodman, Lawrence Rothman, NYPD Sergeant Faced Retaliation for Accusing Cops of Getting Drunk at Electric Zoo. Gannonwho once claimed to have mortgaged his house so he could pursue his Smiley Face investigationsseems to have stopped researching the case sometime around 2012. #SmileyFace #TrueCrime #truecrimecommunity #Chicago . Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Provided A body found Saturday in the Chicago River has been identified as a 26-year-old man who went missing earlier this week after attending a concert at the Salt Shed. In a clip from Saturday's show posted online, she describes her loss as a wound that appears healed on the outside but still feels fresh on the inside. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! We have to do something to bring the individuals responsible for this to justice, says Gannon. Potential "Smiley Face Killers" victim Todd Geib. All rights reserved. -10-20 individuals per city/cell/gang. But at least two of them were eventually determined to be homicides: 1) Twenty-year-old Patrick McNeil was last spotted drinking with friends at Manhattans Dapper Dog bar one night in February of 1997. I think thats inherently problematic, but this has been a really mixed bag when it comes to citizen journalism and armchair investigators. Homan was the eighth accidental drowning case in La Crosse over a nine-year period. They know there will be no repercussions friends he wanted to leave pursuing new leads happened to,! 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