Tarwacki murder -- update in S. Bend Tribune / WSBT coverage reporter (Lou Mumford)

www.wsbt.com/

By LOU MUMFORD
Tribune Staff Writer

NILES—Despite rumors fueled by an entry on a Facebook page, the Feb. 5, 2010, slayings of Niles area couple John and Carolyn Tarwacki remain unsolved, a Michigan State Police investigator said Thursday.
"If it's on Facebook, it's got to be true, right?'' said Detective Sgt. Fabian Suarez. "But, no, there have been no arrests, nothing.''
Because police monitor social networking sites like Facebook, they're aware of entries such as the one that spawned rumors that someone is in custody, Suarez said. But accusing someone of a crime is much different than obtaining the necessary evidence to make an arrest, he said.
As for whether police have a suspect in the case, Suarez said he had no comment.
"We're moving ahead. ... I think we're getting closer,'' he said.
The Tarwackis were discovered dead in their home on Carberry Road, just south of Yankee Street and about a quarter mile outside the east Niles city limits, a little more than a year ago. John Tarwacki Sr., of South Bend, the father of John Tarwacki, discovered the crime after he was notified the couple had failed to show up for a business meeting. Both worked in music education for Quinlan & Fabish.
Police said they believe the killer parked his car on Yankee near Carberry shortly after 6:30 a.m. that day, hiked a short distance through a wooded area, jumped a fence to the backyard of the Tarwacki residence and entered through the back door. There was no sign of forced entry.
Suarez said last month police had conducted more than 300 interviews and followed up on nearly 700 tips, managing to eliminate potential suspects but otherwise having little success. He called the case the most difficult in his 22-year career, pointing out the Tarwackis' apparent down-to-earth lifestyle should have kept them out of harm's way.