David Block, a 22-year-old white male and recent Yale University graduate, tragically lost his life on December 30, 1982. His disappearance occurred while he was visiting his parents in the affluent suburb of Highland Park, Illinois. David had informed his family of his plans to visit a friend in the nearby city of Highwood. However, he never returned, and his new Volkswagen was later discovered abandoned on the Tri-State Tollway near Deerfield, Illinois.
This location is approximately sixty miles north of Lake County, Indiana, where another victim of a related case had been found.
David Block's body was not immediately recovered. It was discovered on May 7, 1984, by a farmer in a field south of Illinois Route 173. The investigation revealed that David was one of the victims of Larry Eyler, infamously known as 'The Highway Killer.' Eyler was a serial murderer who targeted young men and boys, committing at least 21 confirmed murders between 1982 and 1984. Eyler's modus operandi often involved abducting his victims, subjecting them to brutal violence, and discarding their bodies near highways. David Block's case fit this pattern, as his remains were found in a rural area consistent with Eyler's other crimes.
Larry Eyler was eventually apprehended and convicted for his heinous acts. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection but died of AIDS-related complications in 1994 while on death row. Eyler's crimes left a trail of devastation, and David Block's murder was one of many that highlighted the dangers posed by this serial killer. The case also underscored the challenges law enforcement faced in connecting crimes across state lines during that era, as the FBI's National Center for Analysis of Violent Crime had not yet begun computerizing records of unsolved murders.
David Block's untimely death remains a somber reminder of the lives lost to senseless violence. His promising future as a Yale graduate was tragically cut short, leaving his family and community to grapple with the profound loss. The resolution of his case, while bringing some closure, could never fully heal the wounds inflicted by such a horrific crime.
