Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis

Metro-east man pleads guilty to killing woman, dismembering her

The Associated Press

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- A metro-east man pleaded guilty Monday to killing a woman during an argument, dismembering her body and leaving her remains behind a shopping center in East Alton.

A judge sentenced Joshua Tharp, 27, of East Alton, to 30 years in prison for first-degree murder and 25 years for dismembering a human body.

Authorities alleged Tharp met Crystal Terpening, 26, of East Alton on Oct. 12 and later argued with the woman, striking her and killing her. They say he dismembered her body and left the remains behind a shopping center in East Alton.

Crystal Terpening

The case of Terpening, the mother of a 1-year-old son, was handled as a missing person matter until her remains were found Nov. 4. Workers clearing land just a few doors from Tharp's home discovered the body parts.

Authorities said Terpening died of blunt force trauma to the head. Forensic testing results led investigators to Tharp, police said.

"You took the life of a precious girl. This is man's judgment. The ultimate judgment will come from God," Terpening's mother, Deborah Schooler, told Tharpo after Monday's hearing.

Tharp insists the death was an accident and apologized.

Prosecutors have charged another man with obstructing the investigation into Terpening's death.

Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2011/06/20/1755820/guilty-plea-in-southwestern-illinois.html#ixzz1PvKnfOwV

Man charged with obstructing justice in Crystal Terpening homicide probe

The (Alton) Telegraph --

EAST ALTON -- A 24-year-old East Alton man is facing felony obstruction charges after he allegedly gave police false information during the Crystal M. Terpening homicide investigation.

Steven L. Peterson, of the 100 block of North Shamrock Avenue, was charged with obstructing justice Thursday in Madison County Circuit Court for allegedly giving police false information. The charges state that Peterson knowingly furnished false information with the intent to obstruct due prosecution.

East Alton Police Chief Dwynn Isringhausen said that Peterson accused a family member and another person of killing Terpening and disposing of her body.

Crystal Terpening

"He knowingly lied to investigators, and they spent a week pursuing it when they could have focused their attention elsewhere," Isringhausen said.

Peterson allegedly told Detective Thomas Cromer of the Madison County Sheriff's Department, a member of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis that investigated Terpening's death, that his family member and another person were involved in Terpening's death.

Terpening's remains were found Nov. 4 in a wooded lot behind East Alton Plaza 22 days after she last was seen leaving her house following an argument with her boyfriend.

Joshua J. Tharp, 27, of East Alton was charged Dec. 22 with first-degree murder for allegedly causing the 26-year-old Rosewood Heights woman's death. Tharp is accused of bludgeoning her, then dismembering her body and placing it in the lot, just a few hundred feet from his home.

The two reportedly met for the first time on the night Terpening was killed.

Prior to tracking down Tharp, police pursued the lead given to them by Peterson and chased down the family member they thought had fled to southern Missouri, Isringhausen said.

Isringhausen said that once investigators were able to talk to the family member, who was visiting another family member in Mount Vernon, Mo., they discovered Peterson had lied.

"Once investigators spoke to them, they were able to uncover the truth," Isringhausen said. "Peterson wasted a lot of valuable time, and it also cost taxpayers quite a bit of money for all the officers who worked the case."

He said that nearly a dozen officers from area police departments were called back to work with the Major Case Squad because of the information Peterson had provided.

"They spent nearly a week chasing down suspects they thought killed Crystal, and in fact, that they had nothing to do with it," the police chief said.

Madison County records show that Peterson has a history with police for obstruction and domestic matters with family. Peterson's bond in the case is $75,000.

Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2011/01/03/1536289/man-charged-with-felony-obstruction.html#ixzz1A54SXkj8

Break in Crystal Terpening murder

East Alton police and the Major Case Squad will release additional information about Crystal Terpening's murder.

Police have called a press conference for 11:00 a.m. at East Alton Village Hall about the case.

Terpening's body parts were found in a field 600 block of West St. Louis Avenue, behind a strip mall, last month.

Crystal Terpening

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About two weeks ago, investigators were in the 300 block of East George, not far from Terpening's remains were found, searching outside an East Alton home. Investigators would not say what they found or what they are looking for.

A Major Case Squad spokesperson would only say it was in response to a lead in the Terpening case.

The 26-year-old woman left her house on October 12, but investigators believe she was not killed until later and may have been in Alton, East Alton, and Wood River in the following days.

No arrests have been made in the case.

Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2010/12/22/1525794/break-in-crystal-terpening-murder.html#ixzz18rIWeDCu

Police still chasing leads after woman's body pulled from shallow grave

The (Alton) Telegraph --

Authorities on Friday restated their commitment to solving the apparent homicide of Crystal Terpening, just two weeks after her body was pulled from a shallow grave behind a village shopping center.

Members of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis continue to probe the death of the 26-year-old East Alton woman, who last was seen by family on Oct. 12 as she left home in the 700 block of East Rosedale Drive.

Brad Wells, deputy commander of the Major Case Squad and a captain with the Madison County Sheriff's Department, said investigators still have a command post in place in the county facilities in Wood River. Next week, he expects authorities to consolidate their efforts out of the East Alton Police Department.

"There is a tremendous amount of work that has gone into this. We spent a lot of time this week organizing it all," he said. "We are still actively working on this."

Results of lab tests on evidence collected so far still are a minimum of two to four weeks away, he said.

Authorities said they know the cause of Terpening's death, but they are not ready to release it, although they have termed it an "apparent homicide." Parts of her body were discovered on Nov. 4 by workers who were clearing brush behind the East Alton Plaza shopping center, in the 600 block of West St. Louis Avenue. The find prompted a more thorough search of the area by police and the recovery of the body.

Terpening's funeral was held Monday, Nov. 15. Among her survivors is her 1-year-old son, Hayden Crawford, who has become the subject of a trust fund set up at US Bank.

A bunch of kind-hearted union men working out of Hartford on the nearby ConocoPhillips construction project responded to a colleague's recent request and contributed hundreds of dollars to the trust fund.

"I live across the street from where they found her, and it felt like I should do something," said Woodrow "Woody" Peterson, who is a member of Laborers Local 338, working for URS Washington Group. "I went to work and told a few of the guys, just the guys on nights. We would have raised more, but I couldn't coordinate very well with the day shift guys."

He said the group raised "well over $500" but said he was asked by the family not to release the exact amount.

Contributing were members of the Laborers, Operator Engineers Local 520, Plumbers and Pipefitters 553, Teamsters 525, Boilermakers, Electricians and Carpenters Local 377.

Peterson said he talked briefly with Terpening's mother, who expressed sincere appreciation for the donation.

Peterson said he and his wife have a 2-year-old son, and he understands how traumatic this has been on the family.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Crawford, Terpening's boyfriend, is believed to still be hospitalized after an apparent drug overdose on Nov. 12. Investigators with the Major Case Squad have had no comment on the Crawford incident.

Anyone with information about the Terpening case is being asked to called the East Alton Police Department 24-hour dispatch number, 259-6212, or the Madison County Sheriff's Department's anonymous tip line, 296-3000.

© 2007 Belleville News-Democrat and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.belleville.com

Major Case Squad still investigating Metro East woman's death

BY TERRY HILLIG > thillig@post-dispatch.com > 618-659-2075 | No Comments Posted | Posted: Thursday, November 11, 2010 4:37 pm

Crystal Terpening

Related Stories

• Family, friends gather to remember slaying victim in East Alton
• East Alton body parts belonged to woman reported missing

EAST ALTON - Major Case Squad detectives are said to be pursuing "active leads" in their investigation of the death of a Rosewood Heights woman whose remains were discovered a week ago.

Body parts later identified as those of 26-year-old Crystal Terpening were found on Nov. 4 by workers clearing land owned by Olin Corp. Police have called Terpening's death an apparent homicide.

Vigil tonight to remember slain East Alton woman

FROM THE ONLINE DESK

Monday, Nov. 08, 2010

News-Democrat

The mother of a murdered East Alton woman is holding a candlelight vigil in memory of her daughter tonight.

The remains of Crystal Terpening, 26, were found Thursday in the 600 block of West St. Louis Avenue near the Olin Corp.

Terpening's mother, Debra Schooler, is planning the vigil at 6 p.m. Monday in the East Alton Plaza parking lot, 608 W. St. Louis Ave. in East Alton.

Crystal Terpening - Provided/BND

• LINK:GUEST BOOK: Crystal M. Terpening

The St. Louis Major Case Squad continues to investigate Terpening's murder and is actively pursuing leads in the investigation, according to Madison County Sheriff's Chief of Detectives Capt. Brad Wells.

Terpening, who was unemployed and didn't have a car, was living in the 700 block of East Rosedale Drive with her boyfriend, who last saw her about 11 p.m. Oct. 12 when she left home on foot. Terpening's boyfriend and mother reported her disappearance to police Oct. 22. Police do not believe she was killed on Oct. 12 because she was in other areas after that date.

Officials determined the body parts found by workers clearing the property with heavy equipment belonged to Terpening by matching fingerprints.

Anyone with any information related to the investigation into Terpening's death can call the Major Case Squad at 296-4478 or, if you wish to remain anonymous, call 296-3000.

Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2010/11/08/1468733/vigil-tonight-to-remember-slain.html#ixzz14jZmfVdM

Know anything about this woman's murder? Police need help to solve case

BY JACQUELINE LEE - News-Democrat

Police are asking for the public's help in solving the homicide of an East Alton woman, who had been missing since mid-October and whose remains were found Thursday during a land clearing of private property.

Officials determined the remains belong to Crystal M. Terpening, 26, by matching fingerprints, said Madison County Sheriff's Capt. Brad Wells.

Terpening's mother, Deborah Schooler, declined comment except to say her daughter "was very loved" and to thank police for their help.

Crystal Terpening - Provided/BND

"Her family loves her and will miss her," Schooler said on the phone.

On Friday, about 50 police officers under the Major Case Squad were following more than 50 leads to, among other things, recreate a timeline of events leading up to her death.

Police want to be contacted by people who know anything about her death or have seen her in recent weeks.

The Major Case Squad can be reached at 296-4478 or, if you wish to remain anonymous, 296-3000.

Police and crime scene technicians on Friday also continued to comb through the five-acre Olin Corp. property in the 600 block of West St. Louis Avenue. The area is filled with brush, trees and wood piles.

Wells said an autopsy was done about 6 p.m. Friday.

East Alton body identified as missing woman

BY TERRY HILLIG • thillig@post-dispatch.com > Posted: Saturday, November 6, 2010 12:05 am

Crystal Terpening

UPDATED AT 11:15 a.m, November 6, 2010.

EAST ALTON • Police identified body parts found in East Alton as those of a woman missing since mid-October and said Friday they think she was murdered.

Fingerprints revealed that the victim was Crystal M. Terpening, 26, who lived in the unincorporated Rosewood Heights area, about three miles from where the remains were found Thursday morning.

There was no indication who killed her, or why.

Capt. Brad Wells of the Major Case Squad said Terpening had a history of abusing drugs, including crack cocaine, and did not have a job. He would not say whether a suspect had been identified but said police were "questioning a lot of people."

"She should not have died the way she died and she should not have been found the way she was found," he said.

Officials continued searching for more pieces Friday on land owned by Olin Corp., off Virginia Avenue behind the East Alton Plaza. Workers clearing trees, stumps and logs found the remains. The scene is near Illinois Route 3 and West St. Louis Avenue. Police said they released the scene Friday night.

Wells announced the identification at a late-morning news conference Friday. On Saturday, he said an autopsy had been performed but the cause of death was not released. Detectives said Friday that they did not believe it was accidental.

"We're investigating it as a homicidal death," Wells said Friday.

The Madison County Sheriff's Department, where Wells is chief of detectives, opened a missing-person case on Terpening on Oct. 22. He said she was last seen at her home on Oct. 12 but that investigators learned she was seen alive at various locations in East Alton, Wood River and Alton in the next few days.

Police have declined to specify what body parts were found.

Earlier, police had said they were not sure whether the person was a man or woman, or even whether the remains belonged to one person.

Wells said Friday that authorities believe all the remains were those of Terpening. He declined to discuss how the pieces became scattered. There was speculation Thursday that she might have been run over by a train on nearby tracks.

Police have declined to say what else, if anything, was found. Wells said it has not been determined how long the remains had been there.

He asked that anyone with information call the Major Case Squad at 618-296-4478. Anonymous tips can be left at 618-296-3000.

KTVI Body Parts Found in East Alton

 

Police not sure if East Alton body parts indicate a crime

BY TERRY HILLIG • thillig@post-dispatch.com  Posted: Thursday, November 4, 2010 9:39 am

November 4, 2010 -- Investigators search a cleared lot behind an East Alton shopping plaza on Thursday morning. Authorities say human remains have been found near the shopping center. The remains have not yet been identified. Erik M. Lunsford elunsford@post-dispatch.com

UPDATED AT 5:47 p.m.

EAST ALTON • Police could not say late this afternoon whether body parts discovered in a wooded area here earlier in the day were from one of two missing women from the community — or from a woman at all.

In fact, Capt. Brad Wells of the Major Case Squad said detectives cannot even be certain the pieces are all part of the same body.

Officials have not ruled out that it may be someone run over by a train on nearby tracks, and were not yet ready to declare the strange circumstances a crime.