Margaret Mary Gill:1989, Merrillville, Indiana

   Margaret Mary Gill was born on June 26th, 1964 to Anna Ochs Gill and Terrence Gill in Gary, Indiana. Margaret went by the nickname “Peggy”. 

  She went to Merrillville High School in Merrillville, Indiana. 

  In 1989, Peggy was working at the Days Inn Hotel in Merrillville along Interstate 65. She preferred the night shift because it was not as hectic and busy. Peggy was a little shy and the quiet hours suited her better. There was still plenty of work running the night audit, though. 

   At some point that night a man entered the lobby. He looked like an average guy. He wore the clothes of a construction worker or other blue collar employee. He was thin and tall. He had light brown hair and a lazy eye. 

  As Peggy looked up to greet him, he pulled a gun. He asked for all the money in the register. Peggy opened the register and gave it to him. Then he told Peggy that he was taking her too. He told her he would take her a few miles down the road and let her go. Perhaps he said if she did not go then he would harm the hotel guests. 

  As she was coming around the counter to go with him, Peggy did something very clever and brave. She began running into a vacant wing of the hotel. She hoped to escape the gunman but also wanted to lead him away from the guests sleeping in the occupied wing of the hotel that night. 

  Sadly, the man caught up to her. He sexually assaulted her and shot her. She died there in that lonely hallway. The guests sleeping in the other part of the hotel had no idea that Peggy had given her life in an attempt to protect them. 

  The same man got back in his truck and headed south down Interstate 65. Soon, he saw another Days Inn coming up near Renssalaer, Indiana. He took the exit. 

   Jeanne Gilbert had traded shifts that night. She had gone to a school function that afternoon for one of her children. She had no idea that Peggy had been attacked several miles north at another Days Inn. 

   Jeanne Gilbert was robbed as well. When the man said he was taking her so she could not immediately call the police, she complied. 

   Humans have several different panic responses. When I was growing up we learned about fight or flight. You either fight a predator or you run from them and “take flight”. But, now, we know that there are a couple more very common responses. Fight, Flight, Freeze or Fawn:You might fight, you might run, you might freeze or you might fawn (comply). A person doesn’t usually think about this. Your body just reacts. Sometimes each one of these reactions might work. I know of a couple of cases where a victim has talked their abductor into letting them go. I know of at least one victim who fought off her attacker. I know of cases where a couple of victims managed to run and get away. 

   Jeanne Gilbert’s reaction was to comply. I know of many times where this saved a person’s life.  If you were raised as a girl in the 60’s and 70’s in Indiana you were supposed to be pleasant and polite. If you grew up in a strict household with physical abuse employed as punishment then complying is probably ingrained in you. 

  In this instance Jeanne couldn’t know that the man abducting her was a serial killer. He had killed Peggy, maybe less than an hour before. He had killed at least one other victim before tonight. 

  Jeanne Gilbert was found along the road further south on I-65. She had been sexually assaulted and shot in the head. 

  Their murders would be investigated but ultimately go cold. The “Days Inn Murders” became almost a legend in Indiana.

   In 2022, Investigators in Indiana would find that DNA linked these two murders. In fact a third murder that had occurred in February of 1989 in Kentucky was also linked. 

  Vickie Heath was working at a Super 8 Motel when it was robbed. She ran out the back instead of going with the gunman. He caught up to her in the parking lot. He sexually assaulted her and shot her. 

  Their killer had been identified. Harry Edward Greenwell was the man who committed these crimes. He worked for Canada Pacific Railway and traveled frequently. He repaired tracks doing all the small projects. He traveled all over the Northeast and Midwest. He might also have traveled into Southern Canada. 

  I don’t think he started killing in 1989. I also don’t think he stopped then. I think he might have changed his tactics. But he did not stop killing in 1989. 

  Peggy Gill was only 24. Her entire future was stolen from her. She died, I believe, trying to protect others. She could have run toward occupied rooms and called out for help. But she didn’t. She ran into the vacant wing of the hotel. 

   I have this feeling that one day, when historians look back on violence in the 20th century, they will view the victims in much the same way as a fallen soldier. Maybe not quite to that level but I think I see true valor in my research sometimes. 

  Rest in Peace Peggy. And Rest in Peace Jeanne and Vicki.