On April 19, 1972, 19-year-old white female Doreen Marie Burchie, a sophomore at Illinois State University from Morrisonville, Illinois, disappeared after leaving a university-owned house in Normal, Illinois. She had been working on academic papers with fellow students and was last seen around 12:10 a.m. as she headed back to her dormitory at Watterson Towers. When she failed to return, concern quickly mounted. Approximately 36 hours later, on April 20, her body was discovered in a shallow grave near a rural road east of Maroa in Macon County. The white female victim, Doreen Marie Burchie, had been strangled.
The investigation into the murder of 19-year-old white female Doreen Marie Burchie was extensive and involved multiple law enforcement agencies, including university police, local police departments, and state authorities. Despite interviewing over 50 individuals and conducting a thorough probe, authorities initially found no substantial leads. The case remained unsolved for over a year, with investigators continuing to appeal to the public for any information that might help identify the perpetrator.
A breakthrough came in July 1973 when Jesse Donald Sumner, a 36-year-old man from Stanford, Illinois, was arrested on unrelated charges of battery and incest. While in custody, Sumner became a suspect in the disappearances of several young women, including 19-year-old white female Doreen Marie Burchie. During questioning and a polygraph test, Sumner provided information that led authorities to the burial sites of two other victims. He was subsequently charged with multiple counts of murder, including the murder of Doreen Marie Burchie.
Jesse Sumner had a violent criminal history, including a prior conviction for manslaughter. After being paroled in January 1972, he enrolled at Illinois State University and appeared to be rehabilitated. However, unbeknownst to his parole officers, he began targeting young women. In addition to the murder of 19-year-old white female Doreen Marie Burchie, Sumner was linked to the deaths of 20-year-old Rae Ann Schneider and 18-year-old Dawn Marie Huwe. Both women were also found in shallow graves and had suffered fatal head injuries.
Sumner attempted multiple escapes while in custody and was eventually transferred to a maximum-security facility. He later pleaded guilty to the murders of Schneider and Huwe and received multiple life sentences. For the murder of 19-year-old white female Doreen Marie Burchie, he was sentenced to an additional 50-to-100 years in prison. Sumner remained incarcerated until his death in 2005.
