Victim in suspicious death was widow of beloved former Troy mayor
The victim in a suspicious death in Troy has been identified by authorities as the widowed wife of a former city mayor.
Norma Caraker, 60, was found dead about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday inside her home at 600 Lower Marine Road after police received a call for a welfare check, according to a news release from Troy Police Department.
“We’re releasing her identity for now, and we should have some follow-up information, hopefully by this afternoon,” Troy Police Chief Chris Wasser told the BND Thursday morning.
Police announced the death on Wednesday but didn’t name the victim. A news release stated that a female had been found unresponsive and not breathing with “obvious injuries not consistent with a natural death.”
A search of property records showed the white frame house just inside city limits is owned by Charles T. Caraker Trust. Charles “Tom” Caraker served as mayor of Troy from 1997 until 2013.
“As soon as we have additional information, we’re going to put it out,” Chief Wasser said Thursday of Norma Caraker’s death. “I want to be as transparent as I can without compromising the investigation.”
Tom Caraker served the city in various capacities for more than 30 years, beginning as a planning commission member in 1979 and later as an alderman. He also owned Flo-Systems, a water and wastewater treatment equipment design and sales service firm based in Troy.
Norma and Tom Caraker had five children, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren, according to an obituary and a BND story at the time of Tom Caraker’s death in 2018. He was 73.
Norma Caraker also had an apparent call to civic causes.
In February 2022, KMOV-TV profiled her fundraising efforts on behalf of Partners for Pets, a no-kill animal rescue in Troy. Working as a server at Sergeant Pepper’s Cafe in Edwardsville, she took up the “Betty White Challenge,” collecting $5 tips and donating more than $500.
“I love Betty White. She meant so much to me,” Norma Caraker told the TV station. “Partners for Pets is near and dear to my heart, and I didn’t realize that (Betty White) was such an animal lover.”
Police are asking the public to reach out with any additional information they might have regarding the death by calling investigators at 618-667-6731. Anonymous tips also can be submitted on the city of Troy’s website at troyil.us/240/anonymous-complaint.
“The investigation is ongoing, and Troy Detectives continue to follow up on every lead,” according to Thursday’s news release.
