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Who Killed Kathy Lombardo?

The 24-year-old was murdered in 1984 and no one was ever caught. The family is hoping that could be set to change.

Verity Partington
8 min readAug 22, 2021
Kathy Lombardo, who was killed in 1984 (image: Oak Park’s Wednesday Journal)

True crime writer Michelle McNamara has become renowned the world over for her posthumous bestseller I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, which documents her obsession with unmasking the man behind the ‘Golden State Killer’ moniker she herself coined.

However, Michelle touched on another case in the book that remains unsolved — and now the victim’s family hope that by bringing it further into the limelight, Kathleen Lombardo’s murderer could finally be unveiled too.

A summer walk turns deadly

It was 7:30 PM on August 1st 1984, and 24-year-old Kathleen Lombardo was about to embark on her customary walk or jog around the neighbourhood of Oak Park near Chicago, Illinois. She typically headed out via Euclid Avenue, past the Oak Park Green Line Station and then onto Pleasant Street before returning back to the home she shared with her parents and siblings.

A former honours student at Trinity High School and currently working as a retail clerk, her brother Christopher told the Chicago Tribune he remembers her as “a sweet person, quiet, a very good student, very honest”.

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Verity Partington
Verity Partington

Written by Verity Partington

A writer and author of crime thrillers living in the UK. Partial to books, stationery, papercrafts and walking. You can find her books on Amazon here: https://a

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