Thomas A. (Tad) DiBiase received a B.A. in politics from Wake Forest University in 1987 and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1991. From 1995 to 2007, he was an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and spent most of his career trying homicide cases. In 2006, he tried United States vs. Harold Austin, only D.C.’s second no-body trial ever. He is the nation’s leading expert on no-body homicide cases and has a website that tracks and discusses these cases at www.nobodymurdercases.com and he Blueskys at @thenobodyguy. He consults with police and prosecutors throughout the country on no-body murder cases and has formally consulted on more than forty no-body murder cases. He has appeared on television numerous times and has been quoted widely in newspapers throughout the country. His book, No-Body Homicide Cases: A Practical Guide to Investigating, Prosecuting, and Winning Cases When the Victim is Missing, remains the only how-to book on the topic and the second edition come out in November 2023 

Chief Paul Sikorski is a retired 34-year veteran of the Davenport Police Department. Chief Sikorski was hired in 1988 and served in every division of the police department, including 24 years on the Emergency Services Team. Chief Sikorski spent 14 years in special operations and investigations including Gang Unit, Vice and as Supervisor of the Tactical Operations Bureau Covert Unit. Chief Sikorski was sworn in as the Chief of Police in January 2016 and remained in that position until his retirement in August 2022. 

Chief Sikorski is a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, a Master’s Degree from Western Illinois University and a graduate of the 274th class of the prestigious FBI National Academy. 

Joe Moreno is a life long public servant to the Quad Cities. Growing up in East Moline and attending United Township High School, Joe has served as an East Moline Alderman for 12 years then as East Moline Mayor. Joe spent his career working at 3M but his life’s passion has been on the roads of the Quad Cities, where he has led the Quad Cities race circuit for dozens of years. Joe credits an intervention by volunteers with the Youth Services Bureau as an impetus of change which led to his life of service. 

Marcy O’Brien has long been heralded as a voice for children in Rock Island County. March spent 29 years as a police officer, beginning her career with the East Moline Police Department in 1988 before transferring to the Moline Police in 1993 where for the next 24 years, most of which spent spent in community policing or juvenile investigations advocating, protecting and fighting for children. Upon retiring in 2017, Marcy was selected as the Director of the Children’s Advocacy Center where she continues to fight for our children, gives them a safe space and a voice.

At 09:42 am on January 24th, 2024 Moline Police received a call for an unresponsive male at a residence in the 3300 block 25th Avenue. Officer arrived to find 55-year old Steven Herring deceased from a single gunshot wound. At approximately 10:39am Moline Police responded to a report of a cardiac arrest at a residence in the 1800 block 46th Street and found 79-year old Donna Ericson deceased with traumatic injuries. Two homicides in one morning in Moline? When we don’t usually get two in a year, were they related? We had a murderous monster on the loose but who was it and how did we work two homicides at the same time? This is the story of the Steven Herring and Donna Ericson homicide investigations. 

It is one of the more complex and critical parts of law enforcement. Evolving from paper graphs and wooden rulers to data control boxes and drones.  

On a scene where twisted metal and skid marks are only part of the story that has left those involved seriously injured or dead, it is the job of the traffic reconstructionist to put it all back together. 

Officer Eric Wells is a 15-year veteran of the Moline Police Department and has been assigned as a Traffic Reconstructionist for over 7 years. 

Sergeant Matt Russell, a 25-year veteran of law enforcement who began his career with the Phoenix, Arizona police department before transferring to Moline in 2006 has been the Supervisor of the Traffic Investigations Division since 2019. 

Today you will hear about the detailed work it takes to put back together a crash scene.  

A young college student began his internship at the Moline Police Department in January 1994. Chris Endress was following in the footsteps of his dad, Captain Vic Endress when he began his internship. Chris completed his internship in May of 1994 and began working as an Investigator for the City of Chicago Inspector General before being hired by the Illinois State Police in 1996. 

After graduating from the intensive Illinois State Police Academy, Chris began his career assigned to the tollways in Chicago before being assigned to East Moline District 7. 

Chris worked a variety of assignments of which we will hear about today and retired as a Captain in 2022 after 26 years of service. 

A veteran Crime Scene Investigator with the Illinois State Police, Tom Merchie has 34 years of experience, having processed 3700 scenes, including over 500 death investigation cases. 

A career that began with the Rock Island Police Department in 1977, Tom was an Identification Technician before being hired by the Illinois State Police in their Division of Forensic Services in 1987, retiring in 2011.  Tom Merchie has seen a lot in his 34 years and he has plenty of stories to tell.  

Torri Smith, a Quad Cities native is the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of the Mississippi Valley.  Torri is a graduate from Western Illinois University for undergraduate and graduate studies. My professional experience is child welfare and youth development, worked 17 years at Lutheran Social Services, 5 years at Family Resources and 5 years in current CEO role. 

Torri sits down and talks with us about how the Boys and Girls Club makes a difference in Moline and the Quad Cities. 

In the streets of Moline circa 2006, where shadows linger and whispers of a drug dealer fill the air, a tale as old as time itself. It was the eternal dance between order and chaos, justice and defiance. A young patrol officer, a figure sworn to uphold the law. The criminal, a force of rebellion, operating in the shadows and inevitably their paths cross as they are bound by an unspoken connection, each defining the other in a game of cat and mouse. 

This is not your typical story of a police pursuit of justice. It is a story about how two lives intertwined by their individual destinies almost 20 years ago. A story of tragedy and triumph, an inspirational story of battling addiction and ultimately winning.