Someone Can Crack Tammy Zywicki Case — And They May Be In CA, Police Believe

Illinois authorities are asking Southern Californians for help as they seek information about a woman with ties to the Golden State whose DNA has been connected to the 1992 death of 21-year-old Tammy Zywicki, who was kidnapped and killed while traveling from the Chicago suburbs to college in Iowa, according to reports.

Officials earlier this year announced they were looking for details about Theresa “Teri” Belenske — maiden name Theresa Vega — a person of interest who was known to hitchhike and who may have traveled with an unknown truck driver seen near Zywicki’s car, who is suspected in the case, according to police.

Belenske’s DNA was discovered on a blanket at the crime scene, KABC recently reported.

"We know, through our DNA testing program, we developed that her profile was in our crime scene," Illinois State Police Lt. Ryan Kaney told the Southern California outlet. "We're not quite sure how she got there. We do know, however, that she likely, at some point, had interaction with our suspect."

Agents are looking for information about Belenske from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. She had ties to several California cities, including Oceanside, Vista, Pomona, San Bernardino and Fontana, police said.

Belenske died in 2014 and would have been 32 at the time Zywicki was killed, according to police, who released an AI-generated rendering of what Belenske may have looked like in 1992.

"We've talked to family members. We know that this Theresa would often just disappear for years at a time," Kaney told KABC. "We know that she was riding with truck drivers, hitchhiking, and so we're really trying to appeal, specifically, to your area in Southern California to anyone who may have known this Theresa Belenske or Theresa Vega."

Details of the Case

Zywicki was last seen with her 1985 White Pontiac T1000 between 3:10 p.m. and 4 p.m. Aug. 23, 1992, on Interstate 80 at mile marker 83 in LaSalle County, police said. A native of Marlton, New Jersey, she had dropped her brother off at Northwestern University and was making the trek to Grinnell College, UPI reported in 1992.

State police found her car the same day she was last seen and marked it as abandoned, towing it on Aug. 24, 1992, on which date her mother contacted the agency to report that her daughter had not arrived at college, authorities said.

Zywicki’s body was found Sept. 1, 1992, along Interstate 44 in rural Lawrence County, Missouri, according to police, who said she had been stabbed to death. Zywicki had reportedly been sexually assaulted.

A semitrailer was reported near Zywicki's vehicle, driven by a man aged 35-40, who was over 6 feet tall and had dark, bushy hair, police said. Belenske may have been traveling with the man before Zywicki’s death, according to police.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the identification of those responsible for the crime.

Anyone with information about Zywicki’s killing, or about Belenske, can leave a tip at isptips.illinois.gov or call 1-800-225-5324, according to police, who noted callers may remain anonymous.

Personal property of Zywicki’s known to be missing includes a Canon 35-millimeter camera and a Lorus brand musical wristwatch, which played “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head,” police said.​ Also taken was a red and white soccer patch monogrammed with “St. Giles Soccer Club, Greenville, SC,” according to police.