False Arrest

On November 16, 2022, Murray Hooper, one of the three hired killers of William "Pat" Redmond and his mother-in-law Helen Phelps, was executed after being on death row for more than four decades since his conviction of the New Year's Eve 1980 murders. His accomplices, Edward Lonzo McCall, Jr. and William Bracy, were also sentenced to death, but preceded Hooper in death before their executions were carried out. McCall died on February 18, 2000 and Bracy died of cancer on April 9, 2005. Robert Charles Cruz, a former businessman and the accused mastermind behind the killings, was initially tried, convicted, and sentenced to die as well, but his sentences were overturned in October 1983. Inside of 10 years, Cruz's case had two mistrials and another conviction that was overturned in July 1993 on a technicality. Cruz was tried a fifth time on June 1, 1995 and was exonerated. Eventually, Cruz moved back to Chicago to be with his four sons. Two years later, in December 1997, Cruz went missing. Earlier that year, Cruz had convinced a relative who was reputed to be a Chicago Mob hit man on trial for murder to hire his former attorney to represent him. However, the hit man was convicted and sentenced to more than 100 years in prison. Days after the conviction, Cruz disappeared. In March 2007, human remains were found wrapped in a blue tarp in Downers Grove, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago. The remains were confirmed as Cruz's and he was identified through fingerprints and tattoos. Law enforcement sources reported that Cruz had been shot. His death was investigated as a murder.