The western suburbs of Chicago were terrorized by a serial rapist and murderer in the 1970s and early 1980s. Bruce Lindahl preyed on girls and young women for almost a decade. He managed to escape detection because he did not leave his rape victims alive. But in 1980, he kidnapped and raped Debra Colliander in Aurora. She managed to escape, and Lindahl was arrested. Three months later, just before he was to go on trial on charges of kidnapping, rape and deviate sexual assault, Lindahl abducted and murdered Miss Colliander. Lindahl disposed of her body and no one could find her. The following year, because the victim did not show up in court, the kidnapping and rape charges had to be dropped -- and Lindahl could not be charged with murder without a body.
Reporter Jim Ridings wrote dozens of stories for The Beacon-News over several months, determined to shine a light to try to stop Lindahl from getting away with another murder. Suddenly, the public knew the truth about this monster who had been able to evade justice and public attention. Aurora police said Lindahl planned to kill Ridings once the judge finally dismissed the charges. However, four days after the charges were dropped, Lindahl accidentally killed himself while murdering a young man. The story took another turn in 2020, nearly 40 years after Lindahl's death, when DNA tests tied him to the 1976 unsolved murder of Pamela Maurer. Police believe Lindahl murdered as many as 12 people. Murder in the Fox Valley tells the story of Bruce Lindahl's crime spree and how he became a victim of his own murderous acts. The story is also a TV documentary.
** Two More Cold Cases Solved **
It was just announced that DNA was used to prove that Lindahl was the killer in a 45-year-old North Aurora cold case.   In 2020, DNA identified Lindahl as the killer in a Lisle cold case,  Both cases were from the 1970s.