On May 13, 1975, Cindy Becker, a white female, was found deceased in Nippersink Creek near Spring Grove, Illinois. Though her exact age at the time of death is not specified in available records, she was a resident of McHenry, Illinois. The cause of death was determined to be drowning. Her death remains unsolved, and no charges have been filed in connection with the case.
Richard Otto Macek, a white male born in 1948 in Chicago, Illinois, and a former neighbor of Cindy Becker, was considered a suspect in her death. Macek, known as "The Mad Biter" due to his brutal crimes, was a convicted serial killer responsible for multiple murders in the mid-1970s. His confirmed victims include Paula Atkinson Cupit, 24, murdered on August 13, 1974, in Fontana, Wisconsin; and Nancy Lossman, 26, along with her daughter Lisa, 3, murdered in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Macek was arrested on December 5, 1975, and later sentenced to life imprisonment in Wisconsin and 200 to 400 years in Illinois. He died by suicide in prison on March 2, 1987.
Despite being a suspect in Cindy Becker's death, authorities did not have sufficient evidence to charge Macek. The McHenry County Sheriff considered him a possible suspect due to his proximity to Becker and his history of violent crimes. However, without concrete evidence linking him to the crime, the case remains open.
Cindy Becker's death is one of several cases from the 1970s that remain unsolved, with potential connections to known serial offenders like Richard Macek. The lack of definitive evidence has left these cases unresolved, and they continue to be subjects of interest for investigators and true crime researchers.
