It's a murder case that has stuck with Coles County for nearly 40 years.
"This case has been one of great concern and notoriety in the Coles county area, because of the nature of the crime and the condition of the body when it was found and the mystery surrounding the identity of the young lady for such a long period," said Brian Bower, the Coles County State’s Attorney.
What used to be a simple rural bridge in Coles County, since 1980, has been a grim reminder of the murder of Diane Small.
"The Coles County Sheriff’s Department, along with the Bradley Police Department and the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department made an arrest of Thomas A. Small for the murder of his wife Diana,” Bower said.
Diana's body was found at Air Tight Bridge in 1980. However, she wasn't identified until 1992 because of how mutilated her body was when she was found.
“As of just a week ago, the case was unsolved and some reports had said they thought it would stay a cold case and unsolved case forever, “ said Jim Roe, the Kankakee County State’s Attorney. “However, some new evidence came to light, I can't get into the details of that but that new evidence led to yesterday’s charges.”
Although police couldn't share what put Thomas Small behind bars, they said he has always been a suspect.
"He was looked at as a suspect for quite a while, and the Coles County Sheriff’s Office decided they were going to re-open the case, and that’s what they did," said Michael Johnston, Bradley Police Chief.
Now law enforcement officials hope the family will finally have closure.
“I think that there is definitely some relief to the family on this. I mean, you know it was their loved one and they finally have some type of closure," Johnston adds.
