October 3rd marks fifty years since the murder of a Downers Grove teenager in Will County.
The Sheriff’s Office says investigators are continuing to seek information that may help solve the crime.
The body of Jennifer Lynn Springman, who went by Jenny, was found near the bank of a creek under an I-80 bridge near Route 30 in New Lenox Township in early October of 1976.
She would have turned 18 in two weeks.
She had blunt-force trauma to the head and died of strangulation.
Springman was a freshman at George Williams College.
She was last seen the day before he body was found at a small gathering in an off-campus apartment.
A woman later gave police a description of a man and a car.
She said she witnessed a violent confrontation as she was driving by the area where the body was found.
Police say that was consistent with other information they had at the time.
A suspect was identified. Never charged.
Scene where Jennifer Lynn Springman's body was foundWill County Sheriff
A statement from the sheriff’s office says memories may be incomplete or have faded.
But anything anyone remembers could have significance.
Will County Sheriff's Office
A Somber 50th Anniversary this weekend…
50 years after the homicide of 17-year-old Downers Grove resident Jennifer Lynn Springman, Will County Sheriff’s Office investigators continue to seek information that may help answer the remaining questions surrounding her death.
On the afternoon of October 3, 1976, Jenny’s body was discovered near the bank of Hickory Creek underneath the Interstate 80 bridge near Route 30 in New Lenox Township.
An autopsy determined that she sustained blunt-force trauma to the head, resulting in scalp lacerations, and died as a result of manual strangulation.
Jennifer “Jenny” Lynn Springman was born October 15, 1958, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
A recent graduate of Downers Grove High School, she had just begun her freshman year at George Williams College, Downers Grove, that fall. She was last seen around 12:30 a.m. on October 3, 1976, at a small gathering held at an off-campus apartment.
Jenny was just two weeks shy of her 18th birthday when she was killed.
In early 1977, investigators received information from an unidentified woman who reported witnessing a violent encounter the morning of October 3, 1976, between a male and female near a lone vehicle as she passed through Route 30 under the Interstate 80 overpass. The woman provided a description of the male and the vehicle involved.
Investigators determined that the woman’s description was consistent with information previously developed regarding a person of interest and associated vehicle.
An unrelated witness interviewed in 1977 provided information that further corroborated aspects of the woman’s account.
Will County investigators recognize that memories from 50 years ago may be incomplete or have faded over time. Information that may have seemed insignificant at the time, however, could have renewed relevance today.
Anyone with information that may assist in the investigation is urged to come forward, regardless of how long ago the information was learned or whether it has previously been shared with law enforcement.
*CONTACT*
Anyone with information regarding the homicide of Jenny Springman is asked to contact:
Detective Sergeant Mike Earnest at 815-727-8574, extension 4943, or email at mearnest@willcosheriff.org.
If you wish to remain anonymous, we urge you to submit a tip on the Will County Sheriff’s website at www.willcosheriff.org/enforcement/submit-a-crime-tip, or on the Will County Sheriff’s Office App that is available for download on iOS and Android platforms.
You can also contact Will County Crime Stoppers by telephone at800-323-6734, or by computer at www.crimestoppersofwillcounty.org/submit-a-tip/.
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