Local News

Lane Bryant Shooting Victim Honored By Fundraiser

Report: Survivor of Tinley Park Shooting Terrified

FRANKFORT, Ill. (CBS) ― Friends and family members of one of the Lane Bryant shooting victims are honoring her memory Sunday night by holding a fundraiser to held disadvantaged kids. It was a cause close to Carrie Hudek Chiuso's heart, as CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports.

The fundraiser started at 4 p.m. Sunday and will continue until 10 p.m. It is one way for Carrie Hudek Chiuso's friends and family to keep her memory alive as they hope and wait for an arrest.

The beauty of this day was not lost on Hudek Chiuso's brother Michael.

"It's an emotional day, but we're not crying over the loss of Carrie, we're celebrating her life and that's what this is about," he said.

Michael Hudek, Chiuso's husband Tony and dozens of relatives and friends arrived at the fundraiser in Chiuso's name as soon as it began. It's yet another outpouring of support that has helped prop Tony Chiuso up, since she and four other women were murdered in the Tinley Park Lane Bryant store three months ago.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about her," said Tony Chiuso. "I miss her more than anything. There are some days that I just don't know what I'm going to do."

He says this fundraiser that creates scholarships for disadvantaged kids is exactly what his high school social worker wife would have wanted. And he hasn't given up hope that her killer will be caught.

"Just knowing that he's walking free really upsets me," Tony Chiuso said.

Michael Hudek said police are still sifting through thousands of potential leads. One woman did survive the Feb. 2 shooting. She has not spoken publicly yet, but she will likely be a big help to police if and when there is an arrest. 

The SouthtownStar says the lone survivor's no longer under around-the-clock protective custody. The 33-year-old store clerk remains in close contact with investigators following the shootings.

Police say the woman -- who hasn't been publicly identified -- is still terrified but doesn't want to speak to the public about the attack.

Five women died during the botched robbery attempt. But the sixth victim survived with a bullet wound to the neck.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

---