Person Page 37

Samuel Shaffner was born on 22 Sep 1862 in OhioG.^4,5,6 He appeared on the 1870 Federal Census of Connersville, Fayette Co., IndianaG, in the household of his parents, Jacob Shaffner and Lydia.³ He appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of Connersville, Fayette Co., Indiana G, in the household of his parents.¹⁰
     Samuel married Ada Caroline Gary, daughter of Jefferson Gary and Elizabeth Barnhardt, about 1886.^7,8,9
     Samuel and Ada appeared on the 1900 Federal Census of Columbus, Bartholomew Co., Indiana, at 1901 Gilmore St. G, enumerated 12 Jun 1900, reporting that they rented their home. Their children Elmer, Albert, Milo, Freda, and Floyd were listed as living with them.¹¹
     Samuel and Ada appeared on the 1910 Federal Census of Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, at 315 E. 68th St. G, enumerated 19 Apr 1910, reporting that they rented their home. Their children Elmer, Albert, Freda, Floyd, Ruth, Ira, and Forest were listed as living with them.¹²
     Samuel and Ada appeared on the 1920 Federal Census of Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, at 7040 South Wallace St. G, enumerated 3 Jan 1920, reporting that they owned their home, mortgage free. Their children Floyd, Ruth, and Ira were listed as living with them.¹³
     Samuel and Ada appeared on the 1930 Federal Census of Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, at 7040 South Wallace St. G, enumerated 28 Apr 1930, reporting that they owned a home valued at $4,000. Their daughter Freda was listed as living with them, her husband Arthur T. Collins, and their children Beuhla, Naoma, and Esther.¹⁴
     He was a drayman in 1880, at age 17. By 1900 he had become a cabinet maker at a furniture factory. By 1920 he was working as a swimming pool attendant at a city pool.^{15,16,17,18,19}
     Samuel died on 1 Dec 1933 in Chicago, Cook Co., IllinoisG, at age 71.² He was buried on 4 Dec 1933 in Fairmount Cemetery, Fargo, Cook Co., OhioG.²

Kenneth Robert Glabe was born on 3 Jul 1926 in Chicago, IllinoisG.^4,5,6 He appeared on the 1930 Federal Census of Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, G in the household of his parents, Robert Henry Glabe and Ruth Fern Shaffner.¹⁵ He appeared on the 1940 Federal Census of Blue Island, Cook Co., Illinois G, in the household of his parents.¹⁶
     Kenneth enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army Air Corps on 2 Jan 1945 at Fort Sheridan, IllinoisG.^17,18 He was discharged 30 Oct 1946.¹⁹
     Kenneth married first Anne Eleanor Petersen, daughter of Ingolf Fredrik J. Petersen and Anne Eleanor Willey, on 9 Apr 1949 in Chicago, IllinoisG, with Rev. Ray Edwin Bond officiating.^7,8
     Kenneth and Anne appeared on the 1950 Federal Census of Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, G in the household of her father , Ingolf Fredrik J. Petersen. He reported he had not worked the prior week and was not looking for work.²⁰
     Kenneth and Anne moved to Mt. Prospect, IllinoisG, in 1955.^21,22
     Kenneth and Anne were divorced.⁹
     Kenneth married second Karen L. Rodack, daughter of John Thomas Rodack and Violet E. Strelow, on 26 Dec 1964 in Libertyville, IllinoisG. She had previously been married to Thomas W. Riesterer.^10,11
     He was personnel manager for a printing firm in Lake Bluff, IllinoisG.^23,24

Killled After His Birthday Dinner --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Kenneth and Karen went out to dinner on the evening of 21 Jun 1971 to celebrate his upcoming 45th birthday. On the drive home she told him she felt ill and asked him to stop the car. When she got out, she told police, she encountered a man who shouted "What the hell are you doing here?" As she screamed for help to her husband, the man hit her and knocked her unconscious. A passing motorist found her by the roadside, and Kenneth's body was found nearby, dead of multiple stab wounds.²⁵
     Kenneth died on 21 Jun 1971 at age 44, on a beach on Lake Michigan east of Zion, IllinoisG.^12,13,14

His Murder Solved 8 Years Later --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Kenneth's murder remained unsolved until Apr 1979, when a former Arlington Heights, Illinois, police officer, Preston Scott Haig, was arrested in Roswell, New MexicoG, for assaulting his wife. She told police there of his possible involvement in the murder, and he later confessed to investigators from Illinois, saying that he killed Kenneth when he was startled while injecting himself with heroin.^26,27
     After his return to Illinois, the ex-officer admitted that he had been hired to commit the murder by Kenneth's second wife, Karen, and the man she had since married, Mitchell Glenn Link.^28,29 The ex-officer pled guilty, with his sentence reduced by a plea bargain in which he agreed to testify against the couple charged with hiring him. He was sentenced 14 Sep 1979 to 14 to 28 years.³⁰
     Karen and Mitchell were convicted by the jury on 6 May 1980, and were sentenced to 35 to 45 years on 2 July.^31,32

Anne Eleanor Petersen was born on 12 Jul 1925 in Chicago, Cook Co., IllinoisG.^1,4,5
     She appeared on the 1930 Federal Census of Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, G in the household of her parents, Ingolf Fredrik J. Petersen and Anne Eleanor Willey.¹⁰ She appeared on the 1940 Federal Census of Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, G in the household of her parents.¹¹
     Anne married Kenneth Robert Glabe, son of Robert Henry Glabe and Ruth Fern Shaffner, on 9 Apr 1949 in Chicago, IllinoisG, with Rev. Ray Edwin Bond officiating.^6,7
     She and Kenneth appeared on the 1950 Federal Census of Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, G in the household of her father.¹² She moved in 1955 to Mt. Prospect, IllinoisG, with Kenneth Robert Glabe.^13,14
     Anne and Kenneth were divorced.⁸
     She was secretary to the 19 science teachers at Prospect High School for many years. She taught knitting at adult education classes at high schools in the evening and estimated that she taught over 1,000 students how to knit.¹³
     Anne's family had a summer home in Ephraim, WisconsinG, where they spent every summer. Her father spent the weekdays at home and commuting to Ephraim on weekends. Anne continued to visit there every summer until she retired there about 1987. She then spent the summers at the family homestead and the winters at Sister Bay.¹³
     Anne served as a poll worker from 1989, and later chief inspector. She spent seven years on Ephraim’s Historic Preservation Committee.¹³ On 17 Jun 2017 she was crowned Fyr Bal chieftain. She became the 53rd person to preside over the annual Fyr Bal Festival on the shoreline of Eagle Harbor. She lit the 25-foot bonfire symbolizing the Scandinavian tradition of burning the "winter witch'' and welcoming the arrival of summer.¹³
     Anne died on 6 Oct 2021 in Sister Bay, WisconsinG, at age 96.⁹

Karen L. Rodack was born on 24 Oct 1941 in IllinoisG.^4,5,6
     She appeared on the 1950 Federal Census of Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois, G in the household of her parents, John Thomas Rodack and Violet E. Strelow.¹⁵
     Karen and Thomas W. Riesterer, son of Elmer Riesterer and Agnes, announced their engagement in Sep 1958, stating they intended to marry in June. No record of whether they actually were married has been found.⁷
     She was an airline stewardess for a time.¹⁶
     Karen married second Kenneth Robert Glabe, son of Robert Henry Glabe and Ruth Fern Shaffner, on 26 Dec 1964 in Libertyville, IllinoisG. He had previously been married to Anne Eleanor Petersen.^8,9
     Kenneth and Karen went out to dinner on the evening of 21 Jun 1971 to celebrate his upcoming 45th birthday. On the drive home she told him she felt ill and asked him to stop the car. When she got out, she told police, she encountered a man who shouted "What the hell are you doing here?" As she screamed for help to her husband, the man hit her and knocked her unconscious. A passing motorist found her by the roadside, and Kenneth's body was found nearby, dead of multiple stab wounds.¹⁷
     Karen married third Mitchell Glenn Link, son of Aaron Benjamin Link and Esther Porwancher, about 1977.¹⁰

Convicted of Murder --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Her second husband's murder remained unsolved until Apr 1979, when a former Arlington Heights, Illinois, police officer, Preston Scott Haig, was arrested in Roswell, New MexicoG, for assaulting his wife. She told police there of his possible involvement in the murder, and he later confessed to investigators from Illinois, saying that he killed Kenneth when he was startled while injecting himself with heroin.^18,19
     After his return to Illinois, the ex-officer admitted that he had been hired to commit the murder by Karen and her new husband, Mitchell, supposedly for a large sum of money from the victim's life insurance settlement. All three of them were charged with murder on 28 Apr 1979.^20,21 Kenneth's daughter told the press that she thought it odd that police were tying the killing to her father's life insurance, as he had lost a lung to tuberculosis and was therefore a high risk for insurance, but did have a company policy, which was paid to his children. "If they were counting on that money they must have been surprised," she was quoted as saying.²² The ex-officer pled guilty, with his sentence reduced by a plea bargain in which he agreed to testify against the couple charged with hiring him. He was sentenced 14 Sep 1979 to 14 to 28 years.²³
     Karen and Mitchell were tried before a jury, with the trial starting 28 Apr 1980 at Circuit Court, Lake Co., IllinoisG. An officer testified that when she had asked him at the hospital about the condition of her husband she was very startled when he told her he was well and would be brought to her shortly, but later showed no reaction when viewing his body at the morgue. Other testimony reported that the investigation began to focus on her on July 5. They were observed kissing, embracing, and holding hands on the Glabe's front lawn the day of her husband's funeral while she was wearing a bikini. He had moved into the Glabe home by early August.²⁴
     It was revealed that Karen received over $57,000 in life insurance, $34,000 in Social Security benefits, and $6,900 from the Veteran's Administration as a result of her husband's death.²⁵
     The ex-officer testified that the pair had agreed to pay him $5,000 for the murder because Kenneth refused to grant her a divorce, but they had actually paid only $600. He said the plan was for Kenneth and his wife to go to dinner at the Lake-Air Restaurant in Zion, and on the way home she would pretend to be sick and ask him to let her out of the car. She would run up a designated path where the killer was waiting in ambush. The defendants admitted in their testimony that they had an adulterous relationship in 1970, and that she had asked Kenneth for a divorce which he had refused. But they denied planning the murder. He admitted paying the $600, but said it was repayment of a loan. They were convicted by the jury on 6 May 1980, and were sentenced to 35 to 45 years on 2 July, with the judge rejecting their request to be released on bond pending appeal.^26,27 The prosecuting attorney denounced the sentence, pointing out that they would be eligible for parole in just over eleven years.²⁸
     Karen and Mitchell appealed to the Illinois Appellate Court, which affirmed their conviction 2 Oct 1981.²⁶ They then appealed to the U. S. Court of Appeals, which affirmed the decision of the District Court on 18 Feb 1987.²⁹

Resuming Her Life --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Karen and Mitchell were apparently divorced before 1990, as he remarried then.^11,12 Karen moved to Tucson, ArizonaG, by 2003.³⁰
     In 2010 Karen was a volunteer conductor for the Old Pueblo Historic Trolley system in TucsonG, appearing in a number of articles and videos promoting the system.
     Karen died on 7 Jul 2015 in Tucson, Pima Co., ArizonaG, at age 73.^13,14