Carol Rofstad was a 21-year-old college student when she was murdered while walking to her sorority house in Normal, Illinois.
It was winter break, and most students at Illinois State University had already left campus and returned to their homes, but Rofstad decided not to return to her home in Elk Grove Village.
She wanted to earn extra money working at Hecht’s Women’s Apparel.
When her shift came to an end on Dec. 23, 1975, she met up with a friend before walking back to her Delta Zeta sorority house at 602 S. Fell Street, but she never made it inside.
Rofstad was violently beaten with an 18-inch piece of a railroad tie. It was found at the scene, along with her purse containing cash, according to the Illinois State Police Department.
She was found 12 hours later and transported to St. Francis Hospital Medical Center in Peoria, where she died at 4:40 p.m. the following day, on Dec. 24, 1975.
It was reported that Rofstad had been struck in the head at least three times. The impact cracked her skull and interrupted the blood flow in her brain.
An autopsy revealed that there was no sign of sexual assault.
Following Rofstad’s death, police officials interviewed over 50 people, including two women who were inside the sorority house at the time of the attack.
They told investigators that they did not see or hear anything.
Illinois authorities received a tip that two Caucasian men—one of whom was carrying a club—were seen in the area between 10 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. on Dec. 22, 1975.
They were believed to be between the ages of 18 and 25.
After witnesses provided a description of the suspect, a composite sketch was created. However, the sketch didn’t bring them any closer to finding the person or persons who killed Rofstad.
In 2001, the Normal Police Department sent evidence, including clothing and several other items that belonged to the victim, to the FBI Laboratory in Washington, D.C.
One of the items contained a fingerprint, but it did not match anyone in the FBI’s database, nor did it match any suspects in the case.
More than four decades have passed, and the person responsible for Rofstad’s murder has yet to be brought to justice.
Anyone with information regarding the unsolved murder of Carol Rofstad is encouraged to contact the Normal Police Department at (309) 454-9526 or Crime Stoppers of McLean County at (309) 828-1111.
The Illinois State Police are offering a $1,000 reward for more information that could help solve the case.