'34 years of crying for Tammy': Murder trial has Rockford mother worried about case
ROCKFORD — Every night, Linda Tracey sits on her living room couch and envisions her daughter, Tammy Tracey, walking through the door and saying, "Please don't be mad at me mom for being gone for so long."
The thought of seeing her daughter again brings Linda comfort, but she knows Tammy, who was murdered more than three decades ago, is not coming back home. She also knows justice may not come.
She is concerned about the strength of the prosecution's case.
While there is no statute of limitations for homicides, Tracey is aware that several witnesses have died.
"I'm worried about it," she said of this month's scheduled trial. "Thirty-four years of crying for Tammy is a long time."
More: Rockford attorney wants Tammy Tracey case dismissed, says too much time has passed
Tracey, a 19-year-old Auburn High School graduate, went to Searls Park to wax her car on May 27, 1987, and was never seen alive again.
Law enforcement searched for her for nearly a year until her remains were found by a birdwatcher on April 15, 1988, in the Sugar River Forest Preserve in Durand. Dental records were used to identify her body. An autopsy showed she had been fatally shot and sustained a stab wound that contributed to her death.
Jesse Smith Jr., 65, a former Rockford resident and an acquaintance of the family, was arrested in November 2020 in Albany, Georgia, after he was indicted by a Winnebago County grand jury on charges of first-degree murder.
More: Man charged with 1987 murder of Rockford teen pleads not guilty
At the time of his arrest, Smith's bail was set at $5 million. At a March 30 bond hearing, Smith's bail was reduced to $50,000. Smith posted $5,000, the required 10%, and was released from jail.
The State's Attorney's Office objected to the bail reduction, and Trial Court Administrator Tom Jakeway said under rules of judicial conduct, Judge Joe McGraw who is presiding over the case, cannot comment on the decision to lower Smith's bail.
Smith has conditions on his release. He is on house arrest, lives with a relative and wears an ankle bracelet. The trial is set to begin May 23.
"If somebody hurts another person's kid, they need to pay for it," Tracey said. "Tammy was 19 years old. She couldn't vote. She wasn't married. She was going to go back to school. She had her whole life ahead of her.
"Everybody says time has gone by, and you should get over it, but you never get over somebody hurting one of your kids. It's with you day and night. It never goes away."
Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Mother of slain Rockford teen anxiously awaits start of murder trial
