Tammy Zywicki case since September 2011

Shortly after the 19th anniversary of the Tammy Zywicki case, I decided that there was little else to do and little else to write about.  I looked at all the places.  I studied the victim as best I could.  I came up with my own theories regarding evidence in the case.  But mostly with a small cancer surgery approaching and with other personal problems with my job, I came to the conclusion that while I care about the case, there are other things to do.  I got rid of all my speculative posts and kept only the ones that had factual information related to the case so that other individuals who may come across the case can use the info.  I took a few years off before coming back to true crime in other forums and other cases.     

Since I ended my blog on September 7, 2011, or took a 10 year break from posting to my blog, I have sporadically checked up on Tammy Zywicki's case.  On the 20th anniversary in 2012, I remember reading a news article about how her parents had went to visit the gravesite of their daughter and how there was renewed interest in the case by the Illinois State police and FBI.  That continues to this day.

In early 2015, the news said a renowned group of investigators called the Vidocq Society had chosen to look at Tammy Zywicki's case.  I had never heard of this group of people.  They are former investigators who have lots of experience in everything from criminal profiling to forensics.  They provided a profile of the type of offender most likely to have committed the crime.  Even though the Vidocq Society is more of a high level retired law enforcement club who lends assistance to cold cases I was surprised there was actually a group out there who did.  I thought I was the only one doing pro bono work for the FBI.  

Sometime after May 2015 I came across the news of the Mr. Zywicki's death.  Even sometimes when cases get solved, unfortunately it happens after the parents pass away.  It is hard to realize the fact that he never got to see the crime solved.  

I cannot remember exactly when I realized there was a facebook group that covered Tammy Zywicki's case.  But they always seem to have new information about any developments or new media that might be coming out concerning the case.  It is a great way to get the case recognition out there to other people who may not have heard about the case before.  

In 2017, on the 25th anniversary, it was reported that police were going to try to retest articles from Tammy's case to see if any of them could yield forensic evidence like DNA.  Maybe because of the prevalence of social media, but it seems like since 2017 more people are interested in Tammy Zywicki's case than ever before.  Numerous podcasts and shows have delegated some time towards covering the case.

Then last year, in March 2021, Tammy Zywicki's case got some major exposure on an episode of People Magazine Investigates.  The episode is called "Highway of Horrors".  I am not going to summarize the whole episode, but the one major thing I learned for the first time is that this case does have a chance to be solved through DNA.  I never thought there was DNA in the case because I could not understand why police and FBI did not rule out the main suspect, a truck driver named Bierbrodt.  He has been a suspect for a long time.   

And that is where Tammy Zywicki's case is today in 2022.  There seems to be more optimism that the case could finally be solved through DNA testing.  Only time will tell.