On September 6, 1986 a farmer found the nude body of a young woman in a cornfield off a dirt road near Lebanon, Illinois. She was later identified in 2007 as 27-year-old Eulalia Chavez of Palo Alto, California. Investigators concluded she had likely been killed on September 5, 1986, strangled with an item of her own clothing and subjected to severe sexual mutilation; some of her personal effects, including a set of silverware and salt and pepper shakers, were found scattered nearby.

The lack of defensive wounds suggested she may not have had a chance to fight back. Over the years several people have been considered persons of interest. Larry DeWayne Hall once confessed to the killing but later recanted; a DNA comparison was inconclusive and a 2022 partial fingerprint from duct tape did not match him, after which investigators no longer considered him a suspect. Tommy Lynn Sells was also questioned but no charges followed.

A similar 1990 murder of hitchhiker Wyndi Michel, found in a bean field about ten miles away and also sexually assaulted with reproductive organs removed, has prompted speculation of a connection, but no definitive link has been established. Does anyone have information about Chavez’s movements in the week before September 5, 1986?