Cheryl Louise Murray, a 43-year-old mother, vanished from Peoria, Illinois, around April 1, 1994, leaving behind a case that has remained cold for decades. At the time of her disappearance, she was described as a white female with blonde, shoulder-length hair, standing between 5'1' and 5'2' and weighing between 100 and 115 pounds. A distinct physical characteristic was that her right middle finger was amputated at the first knuckle.
She was also known to use the last name Smith. The specific circumstances surrounding the day she was last seen are not well-documented, contributing to the mystery of her case.
The disappearance of Cheryl Murray is part of a concerning series of cases involving women who went missing or were found murdered in the Peoria area during the early 1990s. Her case has been linked by investigators to other missing women from the same time frame, including Stephanie Gibson and Loretta Tinkham. Another woman, Sheryl Murwin, who also disappeared from Peoria in 1994, was later found deceased. This pattern of disappearances raised fears of a potential serial predator in the area.
Authorities have considered a person of interest in connection with these cases. Arie Ray Davis, who was convicted for the 1995 murder of another woman, became a suspect in the disappearances of several women from Peoria. Reports from the early 1990s indicated that Davis had a history of violence towards women. Family members of Murray have stated that she used to frequent the same bars as Davis. Despite these connections, Davis, who died of a heart attack on death row in 2002, consistently maintained his innocence in the disappearances. No definitive evidence has publicly linked him to Cheryl Murray's case, and her whereabouts remain unknown. The investigation into what happened to Cheryl Murray is ongoing, leaving her family without answers for many years.Last Seen: Apr 1, 1994
