“YOU WILL NEVER FIGURE OUT WHO WAS IN THE TRUCK WITH ME”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, POLICE SAY AN UNIDENTIFIED SEMI-TRUCK DRIVER SUSPECTED IN THE 1992 HIGHWAY MURDER OF COLLEGE STUDENT TAMMY ZYWICKI MAY HAVE TRAVELED WITH A KNOWN HITCHHIKER WHO HAS SINCE DIED… AND INVESTIGATORS ARE NOW ASKING THE PUBLIC TO HELP TRACE HER MOVEMENTS.
Investigators working the unsolved 1992 kidnapping and killing of college student Tammy Zywicki have identified a new person of interest in the case.
Zywicki was found fatally stabbed along a stretch of highway in Missouri nearly 34 years ago.
On Sunday, August 23, Illinois State Police announced that detectives are seeking more information about a woman connected to the ongoing probe.
That announcement coincided with the 34th anniversary of the last known sighting of the 21-year-old student.
The cold case investigation remains an active joint effort involving both state police and the FBI.
On August 23, 1992, Zywicki departed from Evanston, Illinois, to drive to her college in Grinnell, Iowa, state police said in a news release.
She never arrived at the Iowa campus that evening.
Her vehicle was discovered abandoned that same day, according to police.
Then, on September 1, 1992, Zywicki was found dead near Interstate 44 in an area of Lawrence County, Missouri.
Her body was discovered more than a week after she went missing.
According to authorities, an unknown male semi-truck driver is considered a suspect in the kidnapping and death.
That driver was reportedly seen near Zywicki’s vehicle around the time frame associated with her disappearance and murder.
Authorities described the truck driver as a white male who was more than six feet tall.
He was reported to have dark, bushy hair and was potentially between the ages of 35 and 40.
Now, investigators are seeking details regarding a recently identified person of interest named Theresa “Teri” Belenske.
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Belenske was said to have possibly been on the road with the semi-truck driver before Zywicki was killed, police said.
State police noted that Belenske is not currently accused of committing the crime.
“Belenske is not a suspect, but a person of interest,” police said.
“Special agents are looking for information about Belenske from the late 1980’s through the mid 1990’s,” police said.
Belenske, whose maiden name was Theresa Vega, died in 2014 at the age of 54, according to police.
According to investigators, Belenske was known to hitchhike.
Police reported that Belenske is linked to several cities in California.
Those California locations include Fontana, Oceanside, Pomona, Vista and San Bernardino.
As detectives pursue information regarding Belenske, authorities continue to examine other leads and physical evidence from the case.
The FBI has offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information that leads to a suspect or suspects involved in Zywicki’s death.
Illinois State Police have distributed photographs of Zywicki and the automobile she drove before she died.
Police also circulated images of personal items belonging to Zywicki that disappeared, including a watch.
In addition, investigators released a 2009 photograph of Belenske.
State police also shared an AI-generated image showing what Belenske might have looked like in 1992.
Authorities are urging anyone with relevant background to come forward to assist the inquiry.
“Anyone with information about Tammy’s killing, or Belenske and who she traveled with during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, can leave a crime tip at our ISP Investigative Tips page or call 1- 800-CALL-FBI,” police said.
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