Marilyn Herrol:1973, Carver Park, Chicago

 

Marilyn Herrol 1973

   Marilyn Herrol was a ten year old girl in 1973. She had a twin sister named Carolyn. They lived with their mother Elsie just three blocks from George Washington Carver Park on Chicago’s South Side. 

   Their apartment complex at 13163 South Corliss Avenue appears very neat and well maintained on Google Earth today. The apartments were built to house returning African American WWII Veterans and their families. 

   On Sunday March 25,1973 Carolyn and her mother could not find Marilyn.  Carolyn had last seen her at 11 p.m.  Elsie called the police and reported her daughter missing.  

   I wonder if the paper actually meant to report that Carolyn last saw her at 11 a.m.?  It seems odd that ten year old little girls would be up at 11 p.m.  But, maybe it was Spring Break and nice weather and everyone was playing outside later. If there’s a rare warm day in March everyone would want to be taking advantage of that nice Spring day. 

   The newspaper article does not mention where Carolyn had last seen her sister.  Were they outside?  Were they inside at home?  That’s not clear. I imagine that they were playing outside.  If Marilyn had been taken from inside her home…that surely would have been mentioned. 

   Shortly after the phone call, the police were searching the nearby park. Marilyn was found face up in a cluster of some bushes. The location was described as being near Carver High School and Isaac Newton Elementary.  (Isaac Newton Elementary appears to be gone now.) 

   This park is a sprawling place. It has playgrounds and baseball fields but parts of it look like the countryside far out of town. The Little Calumet River lies to the south of the park and curves around to form an oxbow.

   Little Marilyn Herrol was found only clothed in a skirt and socks. Some other clothing was found nearby but police did not think it belonged to Marilyn. The only article I could find on this case states that tests would be conducted to determine if Marilyn was sexually assaulted. She had bruises, cuts and scrapes on her face and mouth. Marks around her neck made it obvious that the ten year old had been strangled. 

   Officer William Campbell of the Kensington District spoke with the newspaper about the tragedy. 

   But there are no follow-up articles.  I can find nothing online about the investigation.  Newspapers in 1973 paid little attention to the African American neighborhoods. It’s very difficult to research cold cases from this era. There were no pictures of Marilyn in the papers. There were no interviews with the family. There was only that one article. 

   It’s very rare to be able to find elementary age yearbooks online.  In the 70’s they were usually mimeographed and stapled paperback copies.  They were flimsy and did not hold up well.  It’s also very difficult to find school yearbooks from predominantly African American schools;I have noticed.  I haven’t found any family members online either. Therefore I can’t find a photo of Marilyn. That makes me terribly sad. I wish we could know what she looked like. 

   Hopefully investigators did conduct a rape test and hopefully they saved evidence in this case. Marilyn was just a little girl.  She deserves to still be here. She deserves Justice. 

   I cannot begin to imagine how this tragedy affected the family. Carolyn lost not just a sister but her twin. I cannot imagine the grief that her mother, Elsie Herrol, must have felt. 

   Marilyn was only 10. She was just a little girl. She should have been free to play and learn and grow up. Instead she was stolen from all of us. 

   If you have information about the murder of Marilyn Herrol please contact the Chicago Police at (312) 746-6000.  You can also submit a tip at the bottom of this CPD webpage: https://www.chicagopolice.org/news-category/cold-cases/