Who Killed College Student Tammy Zywicki?

Growing up in a house full of boys, Tammy Zywicki could hold her own.

“What was most notable was her tenacity in keeping up with us,” her oldest brother, Todd Zywicki, tells A&E Crime + Investigation. “She was energetic and tough and independent.”

That unshakeable independence led Tammy to attend school at Iowa’s Grinnell College—over 1,000 miles away from their parents in New Jersey.

It was on her way back to start her senior year of college on August 23, 1992, after dropping their youngest brother off at Northwestern University, that she mysteriously vanished after suffering car trouble on Interstate 80 near Utica, Ill.

Nine days later, the 21-year-old student was found stabbed to death on the side of a highway in rural Lawrence County, Mo. She had also been sexually assaulted.

“She was getting ready to go out and take on the world,” Todd recalls, “and obviously, it didn't work out that way.”

Thirty-four years later, Tammy’s murder remains unsolved, but authorities say remain stay vigilant.

“We are actively setting leads and working on DNA advancements in this case to try to figure out what happened,” FBI Special Agent (SA) Lora Richardson tells A&E Crime + Investigation.

Tammy was raised in Greenville, S.C., wedged between a trio of brothers: two older and one younger. The tilted sibling dynamic compelled her to channel her feminine resilience.

“She could hold her own with the boys because she grew up always having to fight for what she wanted,” Tammy’s other brother, Dean Zywicki, tells A&E Crime + Investigation.

During her senior year at Eastside High School in 1989, Tammy was named Most Valuable Player on the girls' soccer team—a team she founded—helping pave the way for her school’s female athletes.

“She was a real leader,” Todd says. “She started the soccer team because they didn’t have a girls' team, yet.”

Tammy continued her soccer career at Grinnell, where she double majored in art history and Spanish. At the same time, she showcased her photography skills in Grinnell’s student newspaper, where she served as a photo editor.

“She was an avid photographer,” Dean recalls. “She had a really good eye.”

Tammy had spent a year studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain, when she returned to her parents’ place in Marlton, N.J., for the summer in 1992. Her youngest brother, Daren Zywicki, was also home for college break.

Eight hundred miles away, Todd was working at a law firm in Atlanta when he called home to check in with the family.

“Tammy just happened to answer the phone, and we had a long conversation—probably the longest conversation we had in years,” Todd admits. "And that was a week or so before she and Daren started driving back to college.”

The siblings chatted about Tammy’s time spent traversing Spain, her excitement for senior year and her plans for the future.

“I just remember how much life she had in her,” he says. “She was really kind of figuring out what she was going to do, whether she was going to pursue sports photography.”

They got off the phone, and that was the last time Todd ever heard Tammy’s voice.

“When I look back on it, it felt kind of providential that I had that blessing, that I was just given the opportunity to have a nice long conversation with her in a way we just hadn't had the opportunity for quite some time,” he says.

Later that August, Tammy and Daren said goodbye to their parents and together they piled into her 1985 Pontiac T1000 to drive back to their respective college campuses.

Tammy’s car broke down a couple of times before they reached Northwestern University in Illinois to drop off Daren.

She spent the night with a friend in the area before embarking on the last leg of her trip to Grinnell, Iowa, and on August 23, 1992, Tammy got back on the road. She made it about 100 miles before she suffered more car trouble that afternoon and was forced to pull over on I-80, near Utica, Ill.

According to investigators, witnesses reported seeing a tractor-trailer pulled up behind Tammy’s car on the side of the highway. The driver of the tractor-trailer was reportedly a white male between 35 and 40 years old, taller than 6 feet, with dark, bushy hair.

It’s believed to be the last time anyone saw Tammy alive.

“Somebody somewhere knows something,” Dean says.

The next day, Tammy’s abandoned vehicle was towed, and her mother reported her missing after she failed to show up to school.

Nine days after she vanished, Tammy’s body was discovered along I-44 in Lawrence County, Mo. She had been stabbed to death, sexually assaulted and wrapped in a fitted sheet and red blanket before her killer tossed her onto the side of the highway.

Authorities believe Tammy was murdered in Illinois before she was dumped nearly 500 miles away along the Missouri interstate.

Thirty-four years on, the FBI and the Illinois State Police continue to collaborate on the investigation.

“Tammy is a true victim,” ISP Lt. Ryan Kaney, who first started working Tammy’s case in 2017, tells A&E Crime + Investigation. “She wasn't engaging in any at-risk behavior. She simply had car problems, met the wrong person, ultimately put her trust in that person and went willingly with him [we believe].”

Kaney says the suspect demonstrated “some unique behaviors” by taking “trophies” from Tammy, including a distinctive school soccer patch, a Canon 35mm camera and a green Lorus wristwatch with a green umbrella on its face. The timepiece played the 1969 B.J. Thomas song, "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head."

“We're also very much leaning on and hoping that someone in the public may have some information that could help crack this case open,” Richardson adds.

Hundreds of pieces of evidence were collected at the scene, including DNA that investigators are relying on to lead to the identification of Tammy’s killer.

“We’re evaluating it day by day,” FBI Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Dustin Gourley says. “We’re looking at every possible avenue, including significant upgrades in our DNA technology, and we are evaluating every possible thing we can to bring justice to this family.”

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Tammy’s parents held out hope till the very end.

Her dad, Henry “Hank” Zywicki, died in May 2015. The death of her mother, JoAnn Zywicki, followed 10 years later.

The couple stayed invested in their daughter’s case throughout their lifetimes, especially JoAnn, who Todd says, “threw herself into the investigation.”

“We were really hoping there would be some kind of closure before she [mom] passed away,” Dean says. “That was hard.”

Back in South Carolina, the Eastside High School girls’ soccer team continues to honor Tammy’s legacy by hosting its annual Tammy Zywicki Memorial Soccer Game. And the “Who Killed Tammy Zywicki" Facebook group’s nearly 8,000 members remain dedicated to helping crack the case.

“She has a real legacy that has touched a lot of people,” Todd adds.

As Tammy’s death anniversary rolls around, the Zywicki brothers vow to continue to seek answers and justice for their beloved sister.

“I try to look for an explanation as to why somebody would do this, and there is none. There's just evil people who do evil things,” Todd says. "Sometimes people get away with it, and I think in all likelihood, whoever did it has probably passed and is burning in hell now. But it would be nice to know who.”