The Pine Village Murders Book Project

Pine Village article wins national award

2009-05-15T15:44:00.002-05:00

I was just informed by my editor that my article on the Pine Village killings won a second place award in the "best feature" category from the national Suburban Newspapers Association.
The association represents more than 2,000 newspapers, including companies such as Gannett, the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group, the Sun-Times News Group and the Black Press.

Phase two begins next month

2009-04-18T10:56:00.002-05:00

I've sent out a few more letters seeking interviews from some individuals, including some jurors that convicted Carl Reimann.

Speaking of Mr. Reimann, I sent a request to the Department of Corrections to see if I could get the names on his visitors' list. Apparently, that list is private. I also asked the DOC if I was on his visitors' list. They - going beyond their normal protocol - contacted the warden's office at Dixon, where staff personally visited Mr. Reimann and asked him point blank, again, if he wanted to meet with me. He said no. So that's that.

I also tried to contact members of Carl Reimann's family, but have not heard back. Same with some people who I think might be members of Betty Piché's family. So, for the portions of the book that deal with the background and personalities of both convicts, I will use mostly court records and interviews I conducted with former neighbors and other people who may know the family.

I also will consult with the local state's attorney's office for another inspection of their files. I hope to maybe obtain more photographs I have found - mug shots of the convicts, their car, etc., that I think will add more color to the book.

Possibly most importantly, I have already begun writing preliminary outlines in an effort to organize the book, and I have set a hard start time to begin writing at the end of May. This has been a wonderful learning experience, but I now have to start the task of putting this book together. Following the book's completion, I will then hunt for an agent and/or publisher. Wish me luck.

New ad

2009-01-25T15:45:00.002-06:00

I placed an ad in my own newspapers - the Kendall County Record, Ledger-Sentinel, Plano Record and Sandwich Record - in the hopes of reaching some people to interview.

I'm still hoping to start writing the book soon, but there are still some people I would like to talk to, if it's at all possible. Of course, I'm still seeking members of the Cantrell family who may be out there and whom I've attempted to contact, with no luck. If anyone knows their whereabouts and would like to contact me, or can pass along my information to them, please do so!

Also, obviously, I would still like to talk to a member of Carl Reimann and Betty Piche's families. I plan on sending another letter as a last resort effort to Carl this week, again in the hopes of getting an interview, but I am not optimistic about that.

Still looking

2008-12-23T19:00:00.005-06:00

I'm hoping to start writing the book at the start of 2009. But I still hope to find a few more people.
I am seeking members of Betty Piche's family. Piche was born in Walnut Grove, Missouri, August 12, 1942 as Betty Dotson. She was second to the youngest of seven children born to Cecil and Ruby Dotson. She had some siblings living in Sandwich or Somonauk. If anyone out there knows where I can contact a member of that family, please e-mail me or leave a comment here.
Also, I am still looking for members of the Reimann family would want to be interviewed. Again, if anyone has any information for me, please e-mail me or comment.
In addition, I would appreciate an interview with anyone who was a former employee or maybe even a "regular" of the Pine Village, or an employee of any of the Plano drinking establishments (the Shamrock, the Sportsman's, etc.) at the time of the killings.
My goal is to make this book as comprehensive as possible, and these additional sources would help. If you think you can give me any kind of information at all, feel free to e-mail me. I would love to hear from you!

Another award...

2008-10-25T08:01:00.004-05:00

This time from the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association. These awards are given by the Department of Communications at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

The Pine Village article published last year received a first place award in the category of in-depth news story. It also received a second place award in the category of best feature story.

With the news published of these awards, I have had a few people I know approach me and tell me that they remember this incident quite well, that they either knew one of the victims or knew someone who knew someone affected by the crime.

Here is the judge's comment from the NINA contest:

This story takes an in-depth historical perspective about a crime that changed a small community's landscape. It is investigative with new information being offered, but also recreates the scene for readers who were not aware of the crimes from the 1970s. The story has tight writing, a local focus and good reporting about an event that happened 35 years ago.

Again, it's just nice to be recognized by my peers, and it's a good reinforcement that I'm headed in the right direction by wanting to turn this story into book that will, hopefully, be published.

Award winning story

2008-10-18T19:03:00.004-05:00

Good news for those who keep track of such things. My story published last December in the Kendall County Record and Ledger-Sentinel on the 35th anniversary of the Pine Village murders won a second place award in the Illinois Press Association's annual convention.

I obviously don't write to just garner awards, but it's indeed nice to be honored by one's peers.

The story took a second place prize in the Enterprise / Feature Writing category, in Division B.

You can see a full list of 2008 winners here.

You can read the story published in the Ledger-Sentinel and the Record here.

The Northern Illinois Newspaper Association convention is next Friday, and I hope to take something home from DeKalb. But, of course, it's just nice to be nominated.

Why am I doing this?

2008-09-30T20:18:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I ask myself this question, and sometimes it's asked to me by my interview subjects.

It's been a slow crawl putting this project into motion. My day job is as a newspaper reporter, so I'm doing this on my days off (I had two this week already, to celebrate my 32nd year of life) and at night and, on occasion, during slow times at work (I've got a great boss; what can I say?).

But it's worth it. I think that, if nothing else, people should know about this brutal crime because, whether the "locals" like it or not, it's part of the area's history. Heck, it's part of Illinois history, and it shouldn't be buried in yellowed, archived newspaper articles or as part of some kind of urban legend-like lore passed on from generation to generation. There should be a written record of this terrible crime, and I hope to be the one to complete it.

Maybe this book will also teach people, as it has already started to teach me, the impact of violent criminal acts on families and friends of those involved. In this case, there are several "ripple effects" - on the victims' families and friends, on the witnesses who watched this slaughter take place, and even on the criminals' families.

Just thought I'd give my thoughts for today. I hadn't posted in a while and wanted to let those who read this thing know that I'm still working on it, one piece at a time.

Thanks for reading.

An update, and info on Reimann's son

2008-09-13T14:59:00.003-05:00

I recently interviewed a son of John Wilson, the bartender at the Pine Village that evening. Nice guy and interested in the project. We will be speaking further in the future. I also received much information on George Pashade from Mr. Pashade's granddaughter, so I thank her for that.

Pictured: Matthew Joseph Reimann

Also, I knew some general information about Carl's son, Matthew J. Reimann, who is incarcerated for murder. I did not, however, know anything about the murder or how brutal it was.

I visited the city library in DeKalb a couple weeks ago and reviewed some newspaper archives. Here are some basic facts about Matthew Reimann and the crime he was convicted of.

Currently, Matthew Reimann is incarcerated at Menard Correctional Center in Menard, Ill . He entered prison on March 22, 1988, after being sentenced to life in the brutal bludgeoning and stabbing of a female neighbor.

Reimann entered the home of Sharon Rollins, 41, a neighbor of his in DeKalb, on Aug. 24, 1986. According to news reports, Reimann, then 19, struck Rollins on the head with a ceramic statue, then raped her, and stabbed her nearly 40 times with a screwdriver. Reimann said a third person was at the crime scene, who was responsible for beating Rollins - he claimed he killed Rollins and the third person in a scuffle and buried the third person in a cornfield, but a body was never found. Defense attorneys also blamed the crime on Reimann being traumatized over losing his father, Carl, to a murder conviction, and that Reimann was on LSD at the time the crime was committed.

Carl's letters

2008-08-28T11:38:00.001-05:00

UPDATE: I canceled my Yahoo server account, and forgot that I uploaded the images of Carl's letters to that account. I may be able to upload them later, but for now, here is the text of Carl's second (and lengthier) letter. The first letter he sent me basically said he wanted to meet, but that it had to be "face to face." After scheduling an interview via the Department of Corrections, I received the following letter, dated July 25, 2008:

Dear Tony,
Since I wrote to you and said that I would talk to you, my conscious (sic) has really been bothering me. When I wrote that letter, I was listening to what other people told me to write. I feel that in this letter I should tell you what is on my mind, instead of making you drive clear over here to hear it.
You see in this world nothing is free. You need my story, I need your help, and you could help me if you wanted to. I need outside help to make parole, without outside help I will never be released. Then we will talk about what you want. Then only if we can have privacy. I cannot talk freely with someone looking over my shoulder or listening to every word that I say.
I pray that we can help each other!
Respectfully,
Carl

Another find

2008-08-14T13:07:00.003-05:00

I also sent a second response to Carl Reimann last week, telling him to call me at 1 p.m. at our Oswego office. Still no response; it's 1:12 as I write this. I'll keep working on it.

Another update - John H. Wilson

2008-08-05T14:27:00.002-05:00

After going through some old obituaries at the Aurora Public Library, I found some contact information for John H. Wilson, the bartender from North Aurora who was gravely wounded at the Pine Village and died a few days after the incident. The obit has a few family names and I hope to perhaps contact some of them, if I can find them. A bit disappointed (in myself) that I didn't even think about doing such a search earlier. Sometimes the best ideas are right smack in front of your face.

Trip to Rockford

2008-08-04T17:36:00.003-05:00

I made a trip to the Winnebago Circuit Court Clerk's Office last week, on Thursday, my day off, and did a little research. There were some court documents archived there, but not many. I think the bulk of the papers - particularly the transcripts - are here in Kendall County.

After a few days of vacation - and a sick day today - I stopped by the office and saw no response from Reimann regarding my response to his letter. We'll see if he writes back.

I have scanned his letters to me and will post them here.

An update

2008-07-30T10:03:00.003-05:00

For those paying attention, I just wanted to give an update on a few things.

I was supposed to meet with Carl Reimann at Dixon Correctional Center tomorrow, Aug. 31. The date and time were set, with a ton of help from Derek Schnapp at the IDOC. However, on Monday I arrived at the office, and a letter from Carl was sitting on my desk. He wrote in the letter that "nothing in life is free" and that he wanted "outside help" in getting out on parole. I wrote him back and basically told him I can't do that, and also postponed our interview until further notice.

It's unfortunate that it came to this - I was actually looking forward to asking Carl many questions. However, I will not cave to an interviewee's demands, especially if they involve a suggestion of money and/or "outside help," whatever that means. I basically told him in my response letter that, even if I wanted to help him, I don't have the means to do so. The only thing I can do, I wrote, is to tell his story in his own words. I think that's fair enough.

Also, with a little help from Jana Foster at the Messenger Public Library of North Aurora (Illinois), I received a faxed copy of an obituary for John H. Wilson, dated Jan. 10, 1973 from the (now defunct) Batavia Herald. I hope to do a little more research at some other libraries - I have tomorrow off - and also make the trip to Winnebago County to see what, if any, court documents are in existence at that courthouse. I was supposed to meet Carl tomorrow, but I guess I'll do some other work instead.

Looking for...

2008-07-17T15:26:00.001-05:00

In attempting to write as complete a book as possible, I'm looking for, at least, one person to talk to about each of the five victims of the Pine Village robbery. I'm also searching for relatives of Carl Reimann and Betty Piche. In addition, I'd like to speak with people who can tell me about the business of the Pine Village - those who were perhaps past customers or wait staff - to give me insight on what the restaurant was like.
Specifically, here are a few people I'm looking for. If you are one of these people or know how to get in contact with them, please e-mail me at tony@pinevillagebook.com.

•I'm seeking family members or friends of John H. Wilson (or John G. Wilson - some media reports have him listed with an H, others with a G as a middle initial). At the time of his death, Mr. Wilson was living on Hilltop Road in North Aurora, Illinois. Mr. Wilson was the only victim who did not die immediately following the shooting. He was taken to Copley Hospital in Aurora and then transferred to Hinsdale Hospital in Hinsdale, Ill., where he died either Jan. 2 or Jan. 3 (court documents and media reports differ on Mr. Wilson's date of death)

If you have information on any of these people and where to find them - a phone number or e-mail address would suffice, please contact me at tony@pinevillagebook.com. Thanks again for your help!

For informational purposes, here are the names and approximate ages of the victims of the Pine Village robbery:
Patrons -
•Robert Loftus, 48 (of Yorkville)
•Dave Gardner, 35 (of Yorkville)
Employees -
•Catherine Rekate, 16 (of Yorkville)
•John Wilson, 48 (of North Aurora)
•George T. Pashade, 74 (of Aurora)

Welcome

2008-07-05T01:32:00.002-05:00

Hello to any and all who have stumbled across this blog. This is a simple way I've found to reach out to anyone on the Web who happens to be interested in the topic of the book I'm researching.

I'm currently working on writing a non-fiction book on the December 1972 killings that took place at the Pine Village Steak House in Yorkville, Illinois. A couple in their early 30s at the time, Carl Reimann and Betty Piche, walked into the lounge, robbed the business of a few hundred dollars, and Reimann subsequently shot and killed five people.

This book involves, or will involve, many, many people, including family members of the victims, law enforcement officials at the time and, hopefully, members of the killers' families and witnesses to the crime in question.

This project is at its very, very preliminary stages, but if you or someone you know may have been involved in the Pine Village at the time - either an employee, or perhaps a relative or friend of any of the victims or Reimann and Piche - please feel free to contact me, Tony Scott, at tony@pinevillagebook.com.