Killed At The Dry Cleaners: The Murder of Kathy Woodhouse
A remorseless attacker preyed on the mother-of-three at her workplace.
The city of Herrin in Illinois wasn’t known for its violent crime, so when police received a call on January 18th 1992 saying there had been a rape and a murder at the dry cleaner’s, the dispatcher was somewhat taken aback.
Although they were suspicious it may be a prank, they nevertheless passed the message on to police so officers could be sent to check it out. Investigators must have been concerned about the choice of words the anonymous tipster had made, too. After all, how could someone stumbling upon a crime scene infer sexual assault unless they were trained — or had been involved?
A tragic scene littered with forensic details
When Illinois State Police arrived at Fox’s Laundry, they found it empty with no one manning the front desk. But after moving through to the staff area, they were horrified to discover the bloody body of 40-year-old employee Kathy Ann Woodhouse.
Crime scene technician Kenneth Otey would later testify that Kathy was found face down near the furnace, naked apart from a bra. There was a substantial wound to her head and a metal mop wringer was found discarded on the floor…
