text: Ina is a small town in Ilinois. The place was first settled around 1840. But the main settlement was a bit farther from Ina, about 3 miles away to the northeast. That was called Spring Garden at the time. After the railway was built in 1905, more people came to this area, and the centre was moved towards Ina. The town became a stop on the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad, which connected with the major rail lines of the Midwestern United States. Nonetheless, as in almost all towns, this one also has a dark history. Dark memories, which people do not really like talking about. This story, however, could not fade away: there were rumours in the beginning and rumours turned into facts. And facts reached the press; they turned into the news which reached the whole world. As his boss and colleagues described him, Russel Keith Dardeen was a very reliable, honest and helpful person. He worked at the Rend Lake Water Conservancy District. But one day in November 1987, when he did not turn up without checking in, his employer called the police and his parents who did not see him either. When the police arrived at his parents’ home, Don Dardeen, his father gave the police access to Keith's trailer. When the police entered the trailer on the 18th of November, they faced a horrible scene: Elaine Dardeen, her son Peter, and her newborn daughter were brutally beaten up with a baseball bat given to the son by his father for his birthday. Elaine's body was duck taped, and the two children were put in bed. The room seemed to be cleaned up, which indicated that whoever did this terrible murder, was not in a hurry. ‘Is it possible that the husband murdered his family?’ - the detectives and people asked. However, this presumption soon dissipated as they found Keith’s body in a field. He was shot three times, apart from his body was removed. Interestingly, his car was somewhere else: it was found at the police station in a nearby town, Benton. The interior of the car was bloody, which implied that the scene of his murder had been that place. When the news broke out, people got terrified, and they all started to protect themselves by watching their properties, wearing shotguns and looking behind their back. They were also afraid of strangers. As I was walking down the streets after work, they were open and empty. Families did not allow their kids to go out. People preferred getting around by car, instead of walking. As for the investigation, about 100 people were interrogated, but none of them turned out to be a suspect. The motive and the reason for the murder were also unclear. In the meantime, Keith’s mother did not give up: she was pushing the place to continue the investigation and asked for the help of the public as well. However, the murder was so brutal that the media was reluctant to detail it. You might ask if there are any improvements in this case. The year 2000 was a turning point. A serial killer, Tommy Lyn Sells was apprehended and claimed to kill the family among other people. According to Tommy Lyn Sells, he met Keith at a truck stop, and he invited him for dinner at his home then offered him sex, including his wife. This claim, however, is not reliable because Sells was an untrustful person and his story was not convincing. He was executed in 2014, and the question of whether he committed it or not is gone with him. He admitted committing more than 70 murders, and this could be one that he was responsible for. But we do not know for sure. The thing is that uncertain answers are as uncomfortable as unanswered questions. To not know is to suffer. To know can be a burden. The answers you seek may be the very thing that you wish to avoid.