After three months, Chursh still closing

Three months have passed since the Aug. 21 slayings of a Woodstock couple, and police still have not been able to locate the suspect, former NIU student Richard Church.

Woodstock police said Friday that authorities have not obtained any new information about Church since a confirmed sighting of him in late September at a 7-Eleven convenience store in West Hollywood, Calif.

The sighting, by the convenience store’s owner, occurred about one week before Church’s pickup truck was abandoned in the store’s lot, the FBI said.

After the truck was found, some television stations reported that Church was seen in Southern California, FBI Agent Bob Long said. “I am not personally aware of where he (Church) is,” he said. “We don’t have him in custody. Hopefully, the sightings are accurate.”

Like Woodstock police, Long said he has no new information about Church’s whereabouts.

In addition to being charged with the slayings of his ex-girfriend’s parents, Raymond Ritter, 43, and his wife Ruth Ann, 45, Church is charged with the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend Colleen Ritter, 17, and her brother Matthew, 10.