PHOTO: Kerri Elrod, left, and Karen Kogler, right, talk at the fourth and final Carrie-Fest, an annual fundraiser held to raise money for scholarships in the name of Lane Bryant victim Carrie Hudek-Chiuso, at CD&ME in Franfort, IL on Saturday May 21, 2011Despite it being the fourth and final — for now — Carrie Fest, there’s no real sense of closure for her friends and family.
Carrie Hudek-Chiuso was one of the five women murdered at the Lane Bryant clothing store in Tinley Park in February 2008.
“I don’t think there’s ever any closure with something like this until they find the person who did it,” family friend Helen Sabol, of Munster, Ind., said.
Carrie’s brother, Mike Hudek, agreed, saying the event “is another reminder that she’s gone.”
“But the silver lining to all this is the money we’re able to raise helps out so many kids,” Hudek said.
The event has raised thousands of dollars for scholarships over the years for for Lincoln-Way and Homewood-Flossmoor high school students who want to work in the trades.
Carrie was a social worker at Homewood-Flossmoor High School.
Saturday’s fundraiser was at CD & Me, 23320 S. LaGrange Road, Frankfort.
Several hundred people munched on hot dogs, enjoyed live music and bid on raffle and silent auction items, such as an autographed photo of Brian Urlacher, and 40-some gift baskets.
“This is what (Carrie) was about. Family, music, outdoor barbecues,” Hudek said.
Brad Janecek, of Oak Lawn, a groomsman for Tony Chiuso at his wedding to Carrie, said she “was a great person. She was strong-willed, but she was giving at the same time.”
Hudek decided this was the final festival because enough has been raised to fund scholarships “an extremely long time.”
“But, who knows? We may do another one to get everybody together in a couple years,” Hudek said.
Enjoying a smoke outside the party tent, Chiuso said Carrie would have had fun Saturday night.
“We went to things like this all the time, downtown, all over,” Chiuso said.
He believes the Lane Bryant killer will be found.
“We’ll have to relive everything again. That,” he said, “will be the hard part.”