NORTHFIELD, Ill. (WGN) — The night of Sept. 25, 1996, Mary Ann Hayes was found dead in her bedroom in Northfield.
Initially, police found her death to be suspicious. But it was not ruled a homicide.
Instead, authorities said the north suburban mother died of self-strangulation, using a household extension cord.
“That to me was the most…striking aspect of that evening was how we found her,” said Robin Altman, Hayes’ oldest daughter.
As time passed, Altman began questioning her mother’s death.
That led her to contact Alliance for Hope International, a nonprofit founded by two former California prosecutors. The group investigates suspicious deaths nationwide.
Alliance and its forensic expert, Dr. Bill Smock, spent months looking into Hayes’ death.
“What caught my eye in this particular case is when I looked at the photographs from the crime scene, looked at the autopsy, looked at the autopsy photographs – I said this is inconsistent with a suicidal scene, a suicidal death,” Smock said. “This is a homicide.”
Altman and Alliance have called on Dr. Ponni Arunkumar, Cook County’s Chief Medical Examiner, to change the ruling in Hayes’ death, from suicide to homicide. A major reason, they say, is because there’s no evidence of a knot or locking mechanism on the cord.
“I think everybody, immediately sees – where’s the knot?” said Gael Strack, Alliance’s co-founder. “How are you going to continue to apply continuous pressure? Because that’s what you need in order for someone to die.”
Since our stories, WGN Investigates heard from other experts who agree that Hayes’ death was suspicious and deserves to be reviewed by an outside, independent agency.
“Clearly, this case has a lot of red flags,” said Dr. Megan Quinn, an independent forensic pathologist who reviewed Hayes’ case. “From the scene handling to the law enforcement investigation, to the interpretation of the autopsy findings and injury findings.”
In her six-page report on Hayes’ death, shared with WGN Investigates, Quinn wrote, “There are numerous findings from this investigation that raise serious concerns this woman’s death was homicidal in manner and subsequently staged to look like a suicide.”
“It is simply illogical to conclude that someone would die from having an electrical cord wrapped around their neck that is not exerting pressure,” Quinn said.
There are also unexplained injuries to Hayes’ throat, separate and apart from the ligature mark and noted in the original autopsy report.
Both Smock and Quinn said they’ve never seen such injuries in a self-strangulation case.
“I have a lot of questions,” said Matt Konie, a retired Illinois State Police detective.
In 2018, Konie fielded a call from Altman, asking if he would investigate her mother’s death.
That did not happen because Northfield Police didn’t formally request the agency’s assistance.
But Konie believes the questions surrounding Hayes’ death, deserve a closer look.
“I found it concerning and troubling that there was never any answer to those injuries,” he said.
Dr. Ponni Arunkumar reviewed Hayes’ case in 2018. She declined to change the ruling to homicide, in part because she told Northfield Police she found a similar case of self-strangulation, according to records obtained by WGN Investigates.
WGN Investigates has repeatedly asked Arunkumar’s office for the name of that other case. But despite telling police one existed, she has never disclosed a name.
“When mistakes have been made, those mistakes should be righted,” Quinn said. “Those wrongs should be righted. Those mistakes should be fixed.”
A Northfield police official declined to comment for this story. A medical examiner’s office spokeswoman has said Arunkumar doesn’t comment on individual cases.
Altman and Alliance are still working to gather information about Hayes’ death. Anyone with tips or information is asked to email info@HiddenHomicide.com.