Four decades on the faded Polaroid picture still defies belief. Frozen forever within the white square frame, nine youths on their hands and knees stacked atop one another to create a playful pyramid. Their expressions range from slight amusement to outright glee. It was the Eighties in Chicago, Illinois when the Polaroid image was snapped. It appears as if it could’ve been taken at a birthday party, family reunion or holiday celebration. Only it wasn’t. It was taken minutes after a cold-blooded murder. 

Moments before, within the same walls, 40-year-old Nancy Knuckles was strangled to death by her 17-year-old daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend, while a houseful of their friends were present. When the rest of the group, including Nancy’s other daughter and son, discovered the scene, they didn’t alert authorities. Instead, they cracked beers, turned on music and went about their day. 

Over 40 years later, the case remains one of Chicagoland’s most hotly debated. The central question: who was Nancy Knuckles and did her own actions contribute to her brutal death?

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Research and writing by: K. Brant.

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