Beverly Burns, a 34-year-old African American woman, was found dead in an abandoned building on Chicago’s South Side on June 22, 2000. Her remains were severely decomposed, and examiners could not determine an exact cause or time of death. Burns was one of seven women discovered that summer with similar circumstances; all were African American and reported to have engaged in high-risk activities such as prostitution and drug use.

Geoffrey T. Griffin, a 30-year-old man from Chicago later dubbed the Roseland Killer, was arrested June 17, 2000, in connection with the murder of Angela Jones and was linked by DNA to several victims. In Burns’s case bloodstains matching her DNA were found on Griffin’s clothing, but defense testimony suggested the stains could have come from a nosebleed while she was in his presence. Advanced decomposition prevented a precise time of death, leaving open the possibility she died after Griffin was already in custody; he was acquitted of Burns’s murder for insufficient evidence while convicted for other killings in the series.

Anyone with memories of Beverly Burns, the abandoned building where she was found, or information about the summer 2000 killings is asked to come forward.