It was late March of 1984 when the body of a woman was discovered in a field south of Country Road rural Massac County, Illinois, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. An autopsy soon revealed her identity: 26-year-old Lisa Ann Carnes.
She had been shot in the chest. Carnes’ cause of death was listed as exsanguination from the wound, and there were signs that she suffered blunt-force trauma to the head. Items of clothing were found near Carnes’ nude body and her car was found parked miles away, according to KFVS.
Carnes was the mother of two children, a son and a daughter.
“She was the life within us,” her daughter, Stephanie Thoe, told KFVS in 2014, around the 30th anniversary. “And when she was gone, that deteriorated. It's forever changed since that moment."
A that time, investigators had already followed hundreds of leads, but had still not found Carnes’ killer. Now, more than 42 years after her death, someone has been arrested for Carnes’ murder.
Illinois State Police recently announced that 76-year-old George E. Bradfield of Owensboro, Ky., had been charged with five counts of murder. His arrest came through collaboration between the Massac County Sheriff’s Office, the Owensboro Police Department in Kentucky, the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, and Parabon NanoLabs Inc., and funding from EWU Media LLC.
In a press release issued this week, the Illinois State Police noted that the defendant should be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law and WSIL reported this week that he pleaded not guilty to the charges. It also said it is “continuing its investigation and is seeking the public’s assistance.”
Lisa Ann Carnes
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Anyone with information about the incident or Bradfield, is urged to ISP via email directly to ISP at ISP.CRIMETIPS@illinois.gov, or by calling ISP at 618-542-1486 and 618-542-2171 ext. 1202.
“Individuals providing information can remain anonymous,” the law enforcement agency said.
