Janice Bolyard, a 22-year-old white female, was murdered on February 27, 1970, in Des Plaines, Illinois. Born in Toledo, Ohio, she had recently graduated from Northwestern University in 1969 and was working in the research and testing division of a chemical company in Des Plaines. She was engaged to be married, with her wedding planned for June of that year. At the time of her death, she was living in Evanston, Illinois.
Janice Bolyard was one of several victims of Mark Alan Smith, a confessed serial killer originally from McHenry County, Illinois. Smith was convicted of the rapes and murders of three females in Illinois during the first half of 1970: 22-year-old white female Janice Bolyard, 27-year-old white female Jean Bianchi, and 17-year-old white female Jean Lingenfelter. He was also convicted in Arkansas for the 1969 rape and murder of Obie Fay Ash and admitted to additional murders of young women while stationed in West Germany, although he was never prosecuted for those.
Smith was sentenced to 500 years in prison for the Illinois murders. Because his convictions occurred before 1978, he is eligible for parole hearings every few years. However, if ever released in Illinois, he would begin serving a natural life sentence in Arkansas. As of his most recent hearing, parole was denied.
