Ruby Elaine Dardeen, 30, was brutally murdered along with members of her family in Ina, Illinois, in mid-November 1987. Elaine, who was seven to eight months pregnant with a daughter the couple planned to name Casey, lived in a mobile home with her husband Russell Keith Dardeen, 29, and their 3-year-old son Peter. The family was described as quiet and religious; Elaine played piano at the local Baptist church and Keith sang lead vocals.

Police were called on November 18, 1987, after Keith failed to report to work and discovered Elaine, Peter, and the newborn dead in the home. Elaine had been bound with duct tape, gagged, and beaten to death with a baseball bat; the beating reportedly induced labor. The newborn and Peter were also beaten to death, and their bodies were found tucked into bed together. Keith was missing from the scene; his body was found the next day in a nearby field, shot three times and mutilated with his genitals severed.

Years later serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells confessed to the Dardeen murders, but his statement contained inconsistencies and factual errors and no physical evidence tied him to the killings; he was never charged. The case remains officially unsolved. Anyone with information about the Dardeen family or that night is asked to come forward.