{"id":44841,"date":"2026-08-23T17:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T22:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=44841"},"modified":"2026-08-23T17:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T22:58:08","slug":"new-lead-in-illinois-murder-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/44841-new-lead-in-illinois-murder-case\/","title":{"rendered":"New Lead in Illinois Murder Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><p>(TAMMY ZYWICKI)<\/p>\n<p>The Illinois State Police (ISP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have a new lead regarding the kidnapping and murder of Tammy J. Zywicki. \u200b August 23, 2026 marks the 34<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of Tammy\u2019s disappearance. \u200b Her case remains active as ISP and FBI continue exploring new leads, examining 200 pieces of evidence, and retesting items with modern DNA technology.<\/p>\n<p>Tammy was reportedly last seen with her car on Interstate 80 at mile marker 83 in LaSalle County, IL between 3:10 and 4:00 p.m. on August 23, 1992. \u200b She left Evanston, IL for college in Grinnell, IA where she was expected to arrive that evening. \u200b Later that day, Tammy\u2019s car, a 1985 White Pontiac T1000, was found by an ISP Trooper and marked as being abandoned. On August 24, 1992, ISP towed the vehicle. \u200b That same evening, Tammy\u2019s mother contacted ISP and advised that her daughter had not arrived at college. \u200b On September 1, 1992, Tammy\u2019s body was found along Interstate 44 in rural Lawrence County, MO, which is located between Joplin and Springfield, MO. \u200b She had been stabbed to death. \u200b It was also reported that a semi-truck was seen near Tammy\u2019s vehicle during this time period. \u200b The truck driver was described as a white male between 35 and 40 years old, over six feet tall, with dark, bushy hair. \u200b<\/p>\n<p>Special agents are looking for information about a person who may have a connection with the unknown truck driver. \u200b Theresa \u201cTeri\u201d Belenske (maiden name Theresa Vega) was known to hitch hike and may have been traveling with the unknown suspect at some point prior to Tammy\u2019s death. \u200b Belenske would have been 32 years old at the time of Tammy\u2019s death. \u200b She passed away in 2014 at the age of 54. \u200b Belenske is not a suspect, but a person of interest. \u200b Special agents are looking for information about Belenske from the late 1980\u2019s through the mid 1990\u2019s. Belenske has ties to cities in California, including Oceanside, Vista, Pomona, San Bernadino, and Fontana. \u200b<\/p>\n<p>Anyone with information about Tammy\u2019s killing, or Belenske and who she traveled with during the late 1980\u2019s and early 1990\u2019s, can leave a crime tip at our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/prezlymail.com\/c\/13d2f69f-e0c3-458a-93c6-b82fb97c3468\/855c7cab\/https%3A%2F%2Fisptips.illinois.gov%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/prezlymail.com\/c\/13d2f69f-e0c3-458a-93c6-b82fb97c3468\/855c7cab\/https%253A%252F%252Fisptips.illinois.gov%252F&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1787576532297000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0-moOJ5kqZhsjV_cSSU9Ct\">ISP Investigative Tips<\/a>\u00a0page or call 1-800-CALL-FBI. \u200b Callers can remain anonymous.<\/p>\n<p>The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the identification of the individual or individuals responsible for this crime.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(TAMMY ZYWICKI) The Illinois State Police (ISP) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have a new lead regarding the kidnapping and murder of Tammy J. Zywicki. \u200b August 23, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":44842,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>New Lead in Illinois Murder Case - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/44841-new-lead-in-illinois-murder-case\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Lead in Illinois Murder Case - 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