13-Year-Old Sexually Assaulted, Killed 5-Year-Old; 12 Years Later, He Struck Again

In 1981, a 13-year-old boy named Timothy Buss sexually assaulted and murdered 5-year-old Tara Sue Hoffman. Sentenced in adult court to 25 years in prison, Buss served 12 ½ years before being paroled in 1993. Two years later, Buss sexually assaulted and murdered a 10-year-old boy.

Tara Sue Huffman, 5, of Bradley, Illinois, had a great day at kindergarten on May 21, 1981. She spent the school day at the local skating rink, a reward offered to her and other students with perfect attendance. Once she got home, she asked to play with her friend down the road. Her mom agreed, and Tara skipped away, wearing a huge smile on her face.

Around 2:00 p.m., Rose phoned the Smith residence, where her daughter had been playing. She requested Mrs. Smith send Tara home, since her brother wanted to give her a turtle that he had found. Rose thought Mrs. Smith was joking when she said Tara had left some time before the call.

Rose headed down to the Smith residence, where she confirmed Tara was not inside. She, Mrs. Smith, and other neighbors began searching the area for the little girl. She asked everyone she saw if they had seen Tara, but no one knew anything. At 5:00 p.m., Rose Huffman frantically called the police.

Tara's Body Found

Around 7:15 p.m., Timothy Buss found Tara's body in a landfill about 2.5 blocks from the Smith home. The 13-year-old had joined the search earlier in the day. He did not live in the area; he was visiting his aunt's house.

After removing trash and rubble from the body, he saw Tara's face covered in blood. She was naked from the waist down, her shirt pulled underneath her armpits. A long stick protruded from her arm.

Timothy seemed rather calm when he shouted for Anthony Coffman, another searcher. Anthony, pale-faced, shocked, and sick to his stomach, rushed back to the search base to notify the police.

Back at the station, Timothy told detectives his class had a field trip that day, so he did not attend school. He had a busy day before his grandmother picked him and his siblings up from his friend, Gary Clough's, house. She dropped the kids off at their aunt's home a few houses down from the Smith residence. He learned of Tara's disappearance and joined the search. He saw Tara's arm sticking out from a pile of trash.

Timothy's Story Didn't Add Up

One of the officers, Officer Bergen, became suspicious of Timothy's story. He had spoken to Gary Clough's mother earlier in the day. She told him that Gary had moved to Florida with his father. He called Ms. Clough to make sure it was the same Gary and to verify the story. Sure enough, she confirmed Gary had been in Florida for a few weeks by then.

Officer Bergen noticed scratches on Timothy's face when he walked back into the interrogation room with him. He also noticed reddish-brown stains on the boy's pants. He asked Timothy to remove his clothes, then sent him home with his father, certain he was more involved in Tara's disappearance than he told.

Meanwhile, Judith Wilkins called the station, reporting that a young boy had knocked on her door about 2:30 p.m. on the day Tara disappeared. His description, including the clothing he wore, matched Timothy. He wanted to borrow her children's wagon to move trash and promised to return it when finished. She agreed, and sure enough, he returned the wagon that night.

Asked to come to the station to give a statement, Judith encountered Timothy and his dad on their way out. She immediately identified Timothy as the young man who had borrowed the wagon the day before.

Police collected the wagon for evidence. Forensic testing found traces of Tara's blood on the wagon and a partial handprint identified as Timothy's. An autopsy determined she died from blunt force trauma to the head. She had been sexually assaulted. The stick had been jammed into her arm after she died.

Prison & Parole

On May 28, 1981, police charged Timothy Buss with Tara's murder. He was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. He spent five years in a juvenile facility before being transferred to an adult prison at age 18. Behind bars, he often spoke about Tara's murder to other inmates. Timothy seemed proud of what he had done to the innocent child, despite how others, even hardened inmates, perceived him. He served 12 ½ years before convincing the parole board he deserved a second chance.

Timothy moved to Florida in 1993 shortly after he was paroled. He wanted a fresh start in a place where no one knew about the murder. He developed a love of saltwater fishing while in the state.

The Murder of Christopher Meyer

In May 1995, he returned to Illinois, where he rented an apartment in the Aroma Park area. He brought his 1986 Chevy Spectrum, a vehicle that stood out from others, with him to Illinois.

On August 7, 1995, 10 ½ -year-old Christopher Meyer asked his mom if he could go to the Aroma Park boat ramp area near the Kankakee River. She agreed, but told him to be home by 5:00 p.m. He was in Illinois with his mom for the summer, but lived full-time with his father in Washington.

He rode his bicycle to the ramp where he was seen talking to an older man matching Timothy Buss's description. He never made it back home.

The next few days were horrifying for Christopher's family. One of Christopher's shoes was found floating in the river. His bicycle was found hidden in a wooded area, nd pieces of his clothing were found scattered around a parking lot at Kankakee State Park. His Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles underwear was found hanging on a tree branch.

On August 15, 1995, hikers found the child's badly mutilated body buried in a shallow grave in the state park. His autopsy showed that he had been sexually assaulted and stabbed 52 times. His genitals had been severed.

Timothy Buss Sentenced

Witness statements led police to Timothy Buss. He was arrested and, in 1996, convicted of numerous charges related to Christopher's murder. He was sentenced to death, but it was later commuted to life without parole. He remains behind bars in Illinois.

Sources:

https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/Resources/24d2f436-9157-492b-9ee1-c353ccacb56d/81911.htm

https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/07/04/july-4-1996-buss-father-blames-himself-for-sons-behavior/