Richard Church (Rick)

Richard J. “Rick” Church grew up in Woodstock, Illinois, where his family had a longstanding connection to the Ritter family.

Church attended Marian Central Catholic High School, where he played quarterback for the school's football team. He was 19 years old and attending Northern Illinois University in DeKalb when the murders occurred.

Church had known the Ritter family for years. His father, Gene Church, and Raymond Ritter were friends and had worked together at Commonwealth Edison.

Church began dating Raymond and Ruth Ann Ritter's daughter, Colleen, during the 1986–87 school year. Church was a senior at the time, while Colleen was a sophomore.

The relationship continued after Church left Woodstock to attend Northern Illinois University. However, the relationship eventually deteriorated, with Colleen wanting to end it. Church reportedly continued contacting her from college and struggled to accept the breakup.

Church's only confirmed murders were those of Raymond and Ruth Ann Ritter.

In the early morning hours of August 21, 1988, Church went to the Ritter family home in Woodstock.

The attack began when Church assaulted Colleen Ritter. Colleen managed to escape from the house, but Church followed her and stabbed her.

Church then attacked other members of the family inside the home.

Raymond Ritter, 45, and Ruth Ann Ritter, 45, were both stabbed and beaten. Both died from their injuries.

Church also attacked Matthew Ritter, 11, who survived his injuries.

Another Ritter son, Stephen, was not at home when the attack occurred.

Church fled the scene before police arrived, beginning a nationwide manhunt that would last more than three years.

Church used a knife during the attack.

The victims were members of the family of his former girlfriend, rather than random victims.

The attack began with an assault on Colleen before Church entered or remained inside the family home and attacked her parents and younger brother.

The circumstances surrounding the relationship between Church and Colleen were central to the investigation. Authorities quickly identified Church as the primary suspect and determined that he had fled the area.

Church's escape became one of the defining parts of the case.

After fleeing Woodstock, he remained a fugitive for more than three years.

Authorities launched a nationwide search and distributed his photograph and identifying information to law-enforcement agencies across the country. Church was believed to have travelled through several states while attempting to avoid capture.

He used aliases and successfully avoided detection for years.

His disappearance also made him the subject of national television coverage. Church was featured on America's Most Wanted, which broadcast his story to a nationwide audience in an effort to generate information about his whereabouts.

Despite the publicity, Church remained at large.

He eventually settled in Utah and was living under the name Danny Lee Carson.

In November 1991, Salt Lake City Police Detective Craig Park was working his lunch break when he saw a man working as a cashier at Bennett's Pit Bar-B-Q.

Park recognized the man from Church's wanted photograph.

The man gave the name Danny Lee Carson, but details about his identity and age raised further suspicion. Police checked his information and confirmed that he was Richard Church, the fugitive wanted for the Woodstock murders.

Church was arrested on November 21, 1991, more than three years after the Ritter family attack.

His capture ended one of the longest fugitive searches in the case and came about because a police detective recognized him while he was working an ordinary job under an assumed identity.

After his arrest in Utah, Church was returned to Illinois to face charges relating to the murders of Raymond and Ruth Ann Ritter and the attacks on the surviving family members.

Church ultimately pleaded guilty to the murders and the attacks on Colleen and Matthew Ritter.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

His guilty plea brought an end to the criminal prosecution after more than three years of searching for him.

The murders shocked Woodstock because Church was not an unknown outsider. He had known the Ritter family for years, and his relationship with Colleen had made him familiar with the family and their home.

The breakdown of Church's relationship with Colleen was an important part of the circumstances surrounding the attack. Colleen had wanted to end the relationship, while Church had difficulty accepting the separation.

Church's subsequent flight became almost as significant to the case as the murders themselves.

For more than three years, he successfully avoided capture by travelling between states and using false identities. His fugitive status resulted in national publicity, including an appearance on America's Most Wanted, as authorities attempted to generate information that would lead to his arrest.

The television exposure did not immediately result in his capture. Instead, Church was eventually recognized by chance in Utah by Detective Craig Park, who had seen his wanted photograph.

At the time of his arrest, Church had been living under the name Danny Lee Carson and working at a restaurant in the Salt Lake City area.

His arrest in 1991 finally ended the nationwide manhunt that had begun immediately after the 1988 murders.

The case was subsequently featured on Unsolved Mysteries as well as America's Most Wanted, giving the Ritter family murders and Church's years as a fugitive considerable national attention.