Possible link to 20 to 40 unsolved murders
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http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/murd26.html
Convicted killer charged in '77 slaying
May 26, 1999
BY BECKY BEAUPRE AND DANIEL J. LEHMANN STAFF REPORTERS
After more than two decades, the wait ended this week for Richard and Connie
Clarke of West Rogers Park.
A convicted killer, Ralph Raymond Andrews, 54, was charged Tuesday with the
rape and murder of their 16-year-old daughter, Susan, on Aug. 25, 1977.
His confession was captured recently on an undercover prison tape recording,
officials said. The tape has prompted authorities to examine his possible
link to the slayings of two other teenage girls in Skokie in the '70s, and
20 to 40 unsolved murders in other states, officials said.
Richard Clarke, 64, has spent the past two decades mourning his only
daughter, writing poetry to soothe the pain.
"All of this renewal of attention is like opening up the wounds of my heart
all over again," Clarke said Tuesday, as he sat in his living room,
nervously twisting a white cloth and choking back tears.
He heard the news of Andrews' indictment from the Illinois State Police
early Monday afternoon.
"I almost collapsed," he said.
His wife, Connie, 62, has searched in vain for closure--though even now, she
still isn't sure she'll find it.
"She was our baby, our only daughter," Connie Clarke said.
Andrews, who is serving a life term for a 1991 murder and sexual assault,
reportedly admitted killing Clarke after abducting her as she returned to
her home from a baby-sitting job. He allegedly dumped her body, which had
been shot and stabbed, in a vegetable garden near the Edens Expy. in Skokie.
A conviction in Clarke's murder would make Andrews eligible for the death
penalty, Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine said.
"We are pursuing leads and information with regards to other cases, and we
will continue to do that until all the information has been exhausted," said
Devine, who noted that Clarke had been a baby-sitter for his family as well.
He is also a prime suspect in the 1972 murder of Amy Alden, 15, found in the
4700 block of Old Orchard Road, and the 1978 killing of Arvella Thomas, 14,
discovered in the 8200 block of Ridgeway Road, Skokie Police Sgt. Michael
Ruth said.
Andrews was a suspect from the beginning in Clarke's murder and the Skokie
slayings, sources said. He was questioned in each, but denied being
involved, they said.
Because the cases have the markings of a serial killer, authorities from
Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin want to see if Andrews can be linked to 20
to 40 other murders in those states, sources said.
Andrews, formerly of Chicago, was a caretaker at Pottawattomie Gardens on
the North Side. He was convicted in 1993 of the 1991 murder and rape of
Virginia Griffin, 43.
About six months ago, Andrews reportedly started telling a fellow inmate
about murders he committed.
The inmate tipped authorities, who then recorded his conversation with
Andrews.
Devine said the investigation was conducted by his office and the Illinois
Department of Corrections, Illinois State Police and the Skokie Police
Department.
Andrews is being held in the Stateville Penitentiary, Devine said.