Carol's Last Christmas: a cold case podcast

What are the odds that the same young college student could be attacked twice on the same campus, at essentially the same location?

In this opening episode, Mr. Green Jeans, we meet Carol Rofstad, an ambitious, confident and hard -working college junior…newly pledged to Delta Zeta sorority. Friends and family recall a frightening experience in the summer of 1974 that may have set the stage for Carol’s eventual murder

There may be no one (outside of Carol’s family) more dedicated to a solution than George Seibel. The retired Chicago cop has solved hundreds of murders, created college courses on cold case solutions and literally “wrote the book” on interrogation techniques.  He’s got advanced academic degrees but he’ll tell you he’s a graduate of the University of Blood and Guts. In episode2, Cold Case Heat, George reveals some of the street smarts that make him an extraordinary investigator.

For decades, the lodestar in the Rofstad investigation was a remarkably detailed sketch of 2 suspects “seen” by an eyewitness in the dead of night. But there are serious questions about that witness and the composite drawings. In Episode 3, Chasing Ghosts, we explore the longstanding effect of that sketch on the trajectory of the case.

Was it a railroad tie? A log? A 2X4?  And what happened to the object used to bludgeon Carol on that cold December night?  In Episode 4, Where’s the Weapon?, the team tracks down a true smoking gun. The shock of the truth leaves family and friends speechless.

 In 1977, there was a blockbuster break in the case…or so it seemed. First a confession, then an arrest (without a grand jury or indictment)  and a man would spend 3 years in custody for killing Carol. What would become of this Convenient Confession? And where did they go from there?

In 1975, there were fingerprints. That’s about it. No one anticipated the sophisticated forensic techniques unlocked by DNA analysis. There have been questions through the years about DNA in the Rofstad case. So was there DNA testing? On what evidence? Items  summarily dismissed in the 20th century as “having no value” might yet  yield answers in the 21st. 

 More than 18 months into our investigation, a new name surfaced. Somebody who knew our prime suspect perhaps better than anyone at ISU. What made him tick? What could make him explode?  In episode 7, The Rear View Mirror, this “source” recalls key moments before and after Carol’s death that go beyond mere coincidence.

 In this episode, the Genuine Human Team reviews their scorecards. What are the strongest leads, dead ends? What could be making law enforcement skittish about having certain conversations. In a nearly 50 year old cold case,  a 50 thousand foot view can be revealing.

 Carol Rofstad’s memory is vivid among those who knew and loved her.  But does the current ISU community care? Has law enforcement given up?  In Episode 9, epilogue, we look at a subsequent case that would disgrace the Normal police department. And the troubled  legacy of that dark night in December 1975 …. the season that would mark Carol’s Last Christmas. 

Front page coverage of Carol’s Last Christmas in the Suburban Chicago Daily Herald and Bloomington/Normal Pantagraph has led to some exciting new leads. And the Genuine Human team has jumped on them. In this episode, we learn more about one of the Tennessee suspects from the child he fathered a year before Carol was killed. And an ISU student comes forward with some surprising information. She saw the murder weapon in class

In this episode we hear directly from the ISU professor who used the murder weapon as a teaching tool. Did he know that the case was still open? And to say that there’s a surprise ending is an understatement. Have we solved the case .We’ll let our listeners decide and hopefully urge Normal police and McLean County prosecutors to take action. 

The Genuine Human Team uncovers a series of attacks on women in and around

Fell Street in the mid to late 70's. Some of the cases bear a striking similarity to

Carol's. Not a single one has been solved.

An ISU alum plugged in to campus politics has remarkable recall of 1975 and the events before and after Carol’s murder. He’s kept a detailed scrapbook with names , dates and facts. He also had personal run-ins with one of the principal suspects. And we hear from yet another sorority sister who got an untimely phone call on the very day Carol was attacked. 

After a 15 month production hiatus (requested by law enforcement,) the Genuine Human team is back on the case. And you won’t believe what we’ve been sitting on! Persistence leads the prime suspect to make phone calls…old habits are hard to break. Normal police are dealt a blistering blow 

 Just how often were women being attacked in the 1970's at or near Illinois State University? The Genuine Human team explores crimes that were reported to police but largely unknown to the public. And some are strikingly similar to the fatal attack on Carol, including an another assault with a tree limb. It's no wonder George sees some common threads. 

5 months after admitting he was on the crime scene the night Carol was attacked, and after calling Genuine Human's lead investigator George Seibel twice, we learn that suspect #1 has gone permanently silent. Rest assured, this does not mean an end to the investigation. It might encourage long locked lips to tell what they know. 

Our list of known living suspects has now dwindled to one.  In this episode we focus on the Last Man Standing, who at one point offered to tell all , but McLean county authorities refused his request for  immunity.   Was he the “ lookout”, waiting for Carol  to return home from the Cellar ?  Why did he cut his hair and suddenly leave town when the heat was on? His wife at the time pleaded with police to believe her suspicions. Our team tracks down the Last Man’s former sister-in-law who has quite a story to tell.