Back in February there was a particularly gruesome and heartbreaking murder in a south suburban Chicago Lane Bryant store. Five women in the store were killed execution-style while a sixth victim, who was shot in the neck, escaped – amazingly – by playing dead. One of the victims, Rhoda McFarland, was the store manager credited with making the 911 call before the shootings took place. Six months later, the gunman has still not been apprehended. Yesterday, it was announced that a group of investigators are in Austin to find and interview numerous friends of McFarland who have since moved to Texas.

Prior to working at Lane Bryant, McFarland had been the associate pastor of Embassy Christian Center in Crest Hill, Illinois. According to police sources, McFarland abruptly departed the church after a financial disagreement among church leadership in November 2006. Less than a year later, the congregation shut the church doors in Crest Hill and permanently relocated to Austin.

Officials stated that they have come to Texas after examining a cell phone call, significant because it was placed by an Embassy member, routed through the cell phone tower closest to the Lane Bryant store, and took place an hour before the murders. Of key interest is the former head pastor, George Aja, Jr. who owns a restaurant and catering business in Spicewood. Police have stressed that though this is the most promising lead in the case thus far, they have not established a clear connection between the caller and the murders.

[Chicago Tribune: Lane Bryant mystery deepens]