Jul 15, 2007 7:25 pm US/Central
Cold Case: Building Owner Killed On Property
Police Trying To FInd Man In Surveillance Video
by Jim Williams
CALUMET CITY, Ill. (CBS) ―
He was a south suburban businessman who was murdered four years ago. Police have DNA evidence, survelliance video and sunglasses that might have been belonged to the killer, but they need your help as CBS 2's Jim Williams reports.
Brian Heywood was a big man – 6'2'', 260 pounds; a former football player. His widow said Brian's size was matched by his generosity and devotion to family and friends.
"He had a good heart, hard worker, good father, well-loved by his family and friends. I still get calls from people 'boy, I miss him. I really just miss him,'" said Doreen Heywood.
Brian and his brother built a real estate business in the south suburbs from the ground up, acquiring one building after another.
"He started out with two buildings and it just snowballed," said Heywood. "He'd sell one and he'd buy a little nicer one."
In August 2003, police say a man, seen in a surveillance video showed up at Brian's office in Calumet City.
Brian and the man drove in separate cars, apparently to look at an apartment in a building Heywood owned across the street from the River Oaks Shopping Center.
At about 6:20 p.m., police got a call reporting gunfire at the location. They found Heywood in apartment 410 – face down, shot several times.
Brian's brother called Doreen.
"He couldn't even get the words out," she said. "He said 'Doreen, Brian's been shot.'"
Police were able to recover DNA evidence from the scene. Someone was hurt in the apartment and left blood on Heywood's clothes. The blood is either that of the person who killed Brian or someone else in the apartment at the time of Brian's death.
Though Heywood's pockets were turned out, his possessions gone, police have reason to believe robbery was not the motive. Heywood was also beaten, an indication that someone was angrey with him.
"If you're going to rob somebody, there's not a lot of anger that you've built up with somebody," said investigator Mark Ogloomack.
At the apartment, police recovered sunglasses – the same kind of sunglasses worn by the man in the surveillance video.
Still, after four years and countless leads, no arrests have been made and police are still looking for the man in the video.
"We've gone in every conceivable direction and nothing so far has yielded anything substantial," said Ogloomack.
It's been a difficult four years for Doreen Heywood and her two adult daughters.
"A rollercoaster ride," she said. "My children will never get over losing their father. It's just a piece missing. I just need to know what happened."
There is a $25,000 reward in this case. If you have any information in the Brian Heywood case, the Calumet City Police Department wants to hear from you. Call (708) 868-2500, ext. 247.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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