03/17/2022
On today’s date, Wednesday, March 16, 2022, a jury unanimously found Linda LaRoche guilty of the First-Degree Intentional Homicide of Peggy Lynn Johnson-Schroeder and Hiding her Co**se.
This long road to justice began on July 21, 1999, when a young woman’s body was discovered in a cornfield in Raymond. The initial investigation showed that the woman was badly beaten, malnourished, and there was evidence that she had been tortured. Also, the woman mostly likely had a life-threatening infection. Despite enormous investigative efforts, the woman cold not be identified. She was given the name “Jane Doe”, buried in a cemetery in Racine County, and the investigation went cold.
Although the Jane Doe case was extremely difficult, the Sheriff’s Office never gave up on pursuing her killer. The investigation included exhuming Jane Doe’s body to make additional attempts at DNA identification. In 2019, through the use of forensic genealogy and extensive interviews, the investigators were able to identify the victim as 23-year-old Peggy Lynn Johnson-Schroeder.
The Draeger-Lagendorf Funeral Home was instrumental in moving Peggy’s remains to her family’s burial plot in northern Illinois. The funeral home even donated a headstone for Peggy.
The Sheriff’s Office continued their investigation and was able to determine that Peggy was living with a family in McHenry, IL, prior to her death. The Investigators identified the matriarch of the family, Linda LaRoche, as the person responsible for the murder. Sheriff Investigators travelled to Florida and interviewed LaRoche, who made inconsistent/incriminating statements about her interactions with Peggy – including how Peggy stopped living with the family.
The Sheriff’s Office worked with the Racine County District Attorney’s Office to present a case to a jury that proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, that LaRoche killed Peggy and hid her co**se. The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the tireless efforts of the prosecutors in this case.
Sheriff Schmaling expressed his deepest condolences to Peggy and her family. Sheriff Schmaling stated, “The Sheriff’s Office will never forget or stop working a cold case homicide. While the deaths of Peggy Johnson, Amber Creek, and Juanita Zdroik were once cold case homicides, these cases are shining examples of the hard work and dedication of the members of the Sheriff’s Office in creating closure for the victims’ families. I would like to thank all the professionals who assisted in bringing Peggy’s killer to justice. For anyone involved in any other homicide, you need to worry. It is not a matter of if, but when, you are held accountable.”
Anyone with information regarding a homicide or any other crime, know that you can confidentially share information with Crime Stoppers at (888) 636-9330 or contact the Racine County Joint Communication Center at (262) 886-2300.
