Bonnie Thompson

Process of Elimination: a Midwestern Murder Mystery Bonnie Thompson

When Russell Smrekarenrolled at Lincoln Junior College in 1974, the people of Lincoln, Illinois had no idea they were on acollision course with destiny. Process of Elimination is based on thetrue story of how an expelled college student began eliminating witnesses whowere to testify against him in two minor theft cases. Smrekar,a cunning rebel from Joliet, Illinois,had a history of outwitting police and dodging the legal system. In 1976, he mystified Lincolnlaw enforcement and used the community for his killing ground. It appears Smrekarwas responsible for four murders; however, two of the murders - thedisappearances of Mike Mansfield and Ruth Martin, whose bodies have never beenfound - remain unsolved. In 1976, the author, Bonnie J. Thompson, was anineteen-year-old deputy circuit clerk in the Logan County Courthouse, and herfather, Roger W. Thompson, was the State's Attorney when Smrekar was prosecutedand convicted for the double homicide of Jay and Robin Fry. After her father's prematuredeath in May of 2001, Thompson began researching the 1976 murder case fileswithin the Logan County Courthouse. Herefor the first time in nearly three decades, she presents the factual chronologyof events and introduces new information and compelling evidence never revealedin the Ruth Martin case."The investigations into thedisappearances of Mansfield and Martin will never be dropped." - April1977, Roger W. Thompson, State's Attorney. "In Process of Elimination, Bonnie Thompson has used her father'sbull-dog tenacity in digging out and presenting the facts in this highlyunusual true story." - JohnW. Foltz, former Assistant State's Attorney of Logan County."Bonnie Thompson is arelentlessly persevering investigator, and she tells what she has uncovered ina fascinating tale." - Dr. Lawrence Farwell, forensic scientist, inventor, andfounder of Brain Fingerprinting Laboratories, Inc."Through extensive new research, Bonnie Thompson has skillfully put into screenplay form a recount of m