Toni Keller from Dekalb, IL, missing from NIU(Remains Found)

[Tolerance]

No link yet, but I just heard on WBBM that there will be a press conference on Toni tomorrow.
More when I can find documentation and time...

[joesamas mama]

No link yet, but I just heard on WBBM that there will be a press conference on Toni tomorrow.
More when I can find documentation and time...

  Thanks Tolerance, please let me know if you hear more on the press conference

[Nut44x4]

Here we go.....11 am

Authorities set to announce new details on NIU student's murder
 
Oct 25, 2010
Sun-Times Media
(DEKALB) Authorities in northwestern DeKalb will provide more information about the disappearance of Northern Illinois University student Antinette “Toni” Keller.

Keller went missing Oct. 14 after telling friends she was going for a walk near West Lincoln Highway by the Junction Center retail complex near the Northern Illinois University campus, according to an NIU release.

On Saturday, DeKalb police announced Saturday that the DeKalb County Major Case Squad recovered the human remains and items belonging to Keller in Prairie Park south of Illinois Route 38.

Authorities have not positively identified the body as of Monday night, when police announced it will hold a joint press conference with the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s office at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Keller’s death was reclassified as a homicide Saturday night, police said
http://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=1998494&spid=

[Tolerance]

Thank you, NUT.

[cookie]

yes,,thanks for the article Nut..

[Tolerance]

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/video#global

They found remains the day after she went missing.
The remains were so badly burned that they could not even tell if they were human remains.
That is why they held off disclosing the fact that they were found.
Still not positivly id'd as Toni, but her things were there..........................
More in video above.

[Tolerance]

warning:  RUMOR

I have family members and friends  at NIU.
When the students found out that the news of the remains being found was delayed many decided it was because Toni committed suicide.
Now that the case has been labeled a homicide there is much fear and regret among many students.
Students that held to the rumor of suicide are scrambling to remove FB postings.

So so so sad.

Repeat:  The above is hearsay and rumor.

[Tolerance]

now that I think of it, I wonder if posting the above is against TOS?
If so, please delete, Mods, and consider me warned.
I should have thought of this before posting the rumors.
Tol

[klaasend]

now that I think of it, I wonder if posting the above is against TOS?
If so, please delete, Mods, and consider me warned.
I should have thought of this before posting the rumors.
Tol

No, you are ok. You specifically said it was rumor so I don't have a problem with that. 

[Nut44x4]

I'm pretty sure it is okay to move this now.......  any objections?

Missing NIU Student Was Killed; Body Burned

(DeKalb) -- The investigation into the disappearance of NIU student Aninette "Toni" Keller has officially been reclassified  a homicide case.

Police describe the remains found in Prairie Park on October 16th as burned beyond recognition, nine days after Keller told friends she was going to the park to sketch. 

Police say it took a forensics team until October 23rd to determine the remains were human or animal.

The remains are believed to be those of Antinette Keller due to circumstantial evidence found at the scene.

Police are advising the DeKalb community to stay calm, but the city remains on high alert as the search for the killer continues.

http://mystateline.com/fulltext-news?nxd_id=206126

[joesamas mama]

 Thanks Nut for the update.... my question, why is it taking so long to identify the body. I understand it is burned beyond recognition, but does it usually take this long if they use dental records?

[Tolerance]

Nut, ( I always feel badly when I call you that..........)
Thank you for the concern you have for Toni.
I so appreciate your updates.
Tol

[Nut44x4]

Lol Tol, everone calls me that.   joesamas...there is a lot they aren't saying. I am going to wait to move it.

[Tolerance]

duh
duh
duh

now I get it.................you mean 'move it' to a forum appropriate for a missing person found dead.

I was so confused. 
I am way too new to this process.
I feel better now.  I thought one of my posts needed to be 'moved'.

Lord, love a duck.

Quack

[Nut44x4]

Here is the lates report I can find............


BY Dan Rozek
Sun-Times Media
Last Modified: Oct 26, 2010 04:46PM

A body found in a DeKalb park was so badly burned that investigators are unable to determine if it is that of a Northern Illinois University student who went missing nearly two weeks ago, authorities said Tuesday.

Despite that uncertainty, DeKalb Police Chief Bill Feithen said the probe into the disappearance of 18-year-old Antinette “Toni’’ Keller has become a “homicide investigation’’ — largely because of items found near the remains.

“The remains were found in close proximity to items found that are consistent with personal items Toni owned,’’ Feithen said.

Officials reached out to the public for help in the investigation of what happened to the Plainfield teen, who vanished on Oct. 14 after telling friends she planned to go to a park south of NIU’s campus.

In a macabre twist to the intensive search, Feithen said the charred remains found by police on Oct. 16 in Prairie Park were too badly damaged for an autopsy to conclude if they are those of Keller.

Authorities now are consulting forensic experts to help them with the identification.

“Forensic experts have identified the remains as human. Whether these remains are Toni’s or not, could take some time’’ to determine, Feithen said.

Police, in fact, didn’t initially announce the discovery of the remains on Oct. 16 because it wasn’t clear if they were human or animal, he said.

Investigators waited a week — until this past Saturday — to disclose they had discovered the remains. Feithen said police held off saying anything until initial findings concluded the remains were human.

That delay, though, angered some of Keller’s friends, who spent much of that week handing out flyers and searching on their own for the missing teen. Police should have disclosed sooner that they had found remains in the park, even if they weren’t sure of their origin, they said.

“A bunch of us do feel like we were duped. We were puppets being used for their own advantage,’’ junior Jasmine Roberts said of police withholding the information.

Feithen wouldn’t speculate on what may have happened to the outgoing freshman art student.

“We are looking at all possibilities,’’ said Feithen, adding that police had “no indication that this is anything other than an isolated incident.’’

Keller’s family has said they believe she is dead.

On Tuesday, classmates drew the same conclusion.

“Our friend isn’t coming back,’’ said Robinson, 21, who lived in the Neptune North dorm near Keller’s room.

She described Keller as a “ray of sunshine’’ who would want her friends to grieve but then get on with their lives.

“Toni would have wanted us to go on,’’ said Robinson, of Rockford.

Another friend said “it just seems impossible to think anything positive right now,’’ said Andrew Buchanan, 18, a freshman who also lives in Neptune North.

Police said they have made no arrests and had no “persons of interest’’ in custody.

But Feithen said a police task force with more than 40 investigators is working around the clock to try to solve the mystery.

“We’re working diligently to solve this crime so the community can feel safe,’’ he said.

NIU officials, meanwhile, have ordered increased campus police patrols and other security measures, including offering expanded bus service and 24-hour security escorts to students and faculty moving around the campus.

“We have tried to take prudent steps to address all these issues,’’ said NIU Vice President Kathy Buettner, who expressed optimism that police would find the killer.

“We have confidence in our law enforcement,’’ she said.

A school service to remember Keller was scheduled for Tuesday night at the Holmes Student Center on the NIU campus.

Some students who know the missing teen plan to attend, hoping it will help them better cope with their grief.

“It will help. It will let us feel this loss a little bit more,’’ said sophomore Matthew Schultz. “I think a lot of us are trying to block the feeling of what’s happening, and I think it will help us get over it a little bit more.’’The university has set up an information hotline, where operators will attempt to answer questions about the case. That number is 815-753-4648. Parents and students who have questions are encouraged to contact the university’s information hotline.

DeKalb County Major Case Squad investigators are requesting the public to report any suspicious activity or persons in Prairie Park in DeKalb on or about the time and date of Keller’s disappearance to 815-748-8407.

Keller is a graduate of Neuqua Valley High School.

http://bataviasun.suntimes.com/2118719-418/feithen-keller-police-remains-dekalb.html?print=true

[joesamas mama]

Lol Tol, everone calls me that.   joesamas...there is a lot they aren't saying. I am going to wait to move it.

Thanks Nut, seems strange it is taking so long to identify the body. 

[Tolerance]

So hard to imagine how the body was burned so badly.  All I ever hear is how impossible it is cremate a body outside of using a crematorium.
I am stunned.
A person would have had to tend a fire for a long time to ensure this level of destruction.
The whole situation is astounding.
I am praying for Toni's family and her university family.
Tol

[Green Eyes]

So hard to imagine how the body was burned so badly.  All I ever hear is how impossible it is cremate a body outside of using a crematorium.
I am stunned.
A person would have had to tend a fire for a long time to ensure this level of destruction.
The whole situation is astounding.
I am praying for Toni's family and her university family.
Tol

This is so sad. Prayers to Toni's family and the university family as well. Rest In Peace Toni
I was thinking the same thing Tolerance. I go back to the Marine that tried burning the young women and her baby awhile back. It wasn't burned as bad as what they are saying here. So why and how did they manage to burn this lovely young women so badly. Without setting the whole area on fire. Sick I know but what if they used some kind of Jet fuel, I understand that it burns hotter than gas. And if the area wasn't burnt then who ever did this took her some where and did this horrific crime and just dumped her there. 
Prayers 

[Tolerance]

Video of the press conference from yesterday:

http://mystateline.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=206126

[Tolerance]

There is something really odd about this whole situation.
Why on earth would someone burn the body so efficiently and completely and then leave her belongings near the remains?
Wish a real criminal profiler would analyze this crime scene.
It is disturbing and horrifying on so many levels.
Tol