Michael Gerchenson was 19 and a sophomore at Southern Illinois University when he was found shot to death along a highway near West Frankfort, Illinois. His body was discovered on May 3, 1972.

Ballistics later tied the .30 caliber weapon used in Gerchenson’s killing to other slayings, including the Corbett family in Barrington Hills and the Hawtree family in Monee. Gerchenson’s car was recovered burned; inside investigators found a laundry ticket linked to a group calling itself De Mau Mau, which drew attention to that organization.

In October 1972 Chicago police arrested nine young Black men identified as members of De Mau Mau. Among those charged in the string of murders were Reuben Taylor, Donald Taylor, Michael Clark, Nathaniel Burse, Edward Moran Jr., and Robert Wilson. Cook County Sheriff Richard Elrod said he saw racial hatred as the group’s apparent motive. Some charges were later dropped after convictions and sentences in parts of the case.

Did anyone in the Chicago, Southern Illinois, or West Frankfort area have contact with Gerchenson or information about De Mau Mau in 1972?