Jun 2, 2026 · 54 min · 19 segments
1977 - Elwood, Illinois. In September 1977, 84-year-old Alice Sturm was murdered in her bed inside her home in Elwood, Illinois. Suspicion quickly fell on Alice’s live-in granddaughter, Sheila, and…
Kristen SeaveyHost
John Sturm was 59 years old, just a few weeks shy of his 60th birthday, and he was going to the airport to pick up his younger sister, Vivian.
Though married, Vivian was coming alone from Sacramento, California to spend time with her brother, their elderly mother, and her brother's family.
Their mother had just turned 84, and Vivian was there for a belated celebration.
She had likely taken an overnight red-eye flight from the West Coast to make it in so early.
They drove through Joliet, the closest city to their little hamlet of Elwood, before pulling off the busy road into their driveway.
John was home by 7.30 a.m. and was sitting at the kitchen table with Vivian drinking a cup of coffee when the phone rang.
She asked, Is mother there? Sheila's mom, John's wife, Manola, was out running errands.
He told his daughter that he knew nothing of it, but said that his wife had dropped by earlier in the morning to bring Sheila some clean clothes.
John Sturm was 59 years old, just a few weeks shy of his 60th birthday, and he was going to the airport to pick up his younger sister, Vivian.
Though married, Vivian was coming alone from Sacramento, California to spend time with her brother, their elderly mother, and her brother's family.
Their mother had just turned 84, and Vivian was there for a belated celebration.
She had likely taken an overnight red-eye flight from the West Coast to make it in so early.
They drove through Joliet, the closest city to their little hamlet of Elwood, before pulling off the busy road into their driveway.
John was home by 7.30 a.m. and was sitting at the kitchen table with Vivian drinking a cup of coffee when the phone rang.
She asked, Is mother there? Sheila's mom, John's wife, Manola, was out running errands.
He told his daughter that he knew nothing of it, but said that his wife had dropped by earlier in the morning to bring Sheila some clean clothes.
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