Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO – The city’s top police executive hopes a television show broadcast will produce new leads and the crucial clue in the investigation into the murder of a federal judge’s family.

Police Superintendent Philip J. Cline said Sunday that he believes an “America’s Most Wanted” broadcast of the murder of the husband and mother of U.S. District Judge Joan H. Lefkow could result in a break in the case.

“We’re hoping that having it on “America’s Most Wanted’ last night will help us out,” Cline said in an interview at a fund-raising event. “We’re looking for that one tip that will break this case open.”

Cline stressed that investigators were looking for “one tip, one phone call, one clue” that could lead to the person or persons behind last week’s murders.

Lefkow found her husband Michael, 64, and her mother, Donna Humphrey, 89, shot to death last Monday night in the basement of their Edgewater, Ill., home.

As of late Sunday afternoon, Chicago police had received 606 calls with information about the case, police spokeswoman JoAnne Taylor said. Chicago police released composite sketches Wednesday of two men seen sitting in a car near the Lefkow’s home around the time of murder.

The FBI has interviewed more than 100 people, including many known white supremacists, and on Friday offered a $50,000 reward for information leading up to the arrests of those persons responsible. There have been no new leads in the investigation, FBI spokesman Ross Rice said Sunday.

The double murder of the judge’s family rocked the tight-knit community in which the family lived and has reverberated across the nation, shedding light onto the safety of the judiciary. The airing of the case on “America’s Most Wanted” dedicated to solving crimes and catching fugitives solidifies the national impact of the story and the scope of the investigation.

Laboratory technicians have been trying to find genetic material on cigarette butts, a beverage can, and other items found at Lefkow’s home. The most promising piece of evidence is a fingerprint on glass from a broken window.

The television show Saturday night sparked 25 tips to “America’s Most Wanted’s” hot line, spokesman Avery Mann said. “Viewer response in the Lefkow case has been excellent,” he said.

But so far, there have been no tips of immediate value, a police source said.

Viewer response to “America’s Most Wanted” ranges from zero to several hundred calls, depending on the case and the number of times it has aired.

“We’ve had cases solved with one tip alone, and others with over a hundred,” Mann said. “We’ve solved cases like this in the past where there are just sketches of potential suspects.”

The Lefkow case is daunting. Mann said that cases in which a suspect is not named, or only suspect sketches are available, tend to be more difficult and have a lower success rate.

Mann said it is possible that the Lefkow case could be aired again, especially if there is new evidence or additional information that can be disclosed. In its 17-year-history, “America’s Most Wanted” has helped to capture 830 fugitives and recovered 41 missing children.

Copy the Story Link