Niece of victim in 1972 Pine Village mass killing near Yorkville fights murderer’s full parole

Fifty-three years after two patrons and three restaurant workers at the Pine Village restaurant were shot dead, the niece of one of the victims is campaigning against the convicted killer being granted full release from parole.

Carl Reimann was convicted on Dec. 29, 1972 of the crime with his then-girlfriend Betty Piche who received a lesser sentence and was paroled in 1983.

Reimann was sentenced to five 150-year sentences in state prison in June 1973, according to Shaw Local archives.

Reimann was convicted of stealing $649.71 from the cash register before shooting the five individuals with a semiautomatic handgun. The couple was arrested by police in nearby Morris.

The Pine Village restaurant was located at the southwest corner of Illinois Route 34 and Illinois Route 47.

Lisa Sleezer, a lifelong Yorkville resident, is urging all community members, not just family members of the “Pine Village massacre” victims, to submit impact statements to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board supporting Reimann remaining on parole.

She told the Yorkville City Council at the July 9 meeting her family had recently found out Reimann attempted to be fully released from parole last year, being denied in both April and August 2024.

“We fear he will request to be released from parole again, and that if he is released, this would mean he could reside again in Kendall County and could directly contact the victims if he chose to do so,” Sleezer said during the meeting. “There are family members that still reside in Yorkville and would be greatly affected by this. We don’t want him to come back to this county and our last protection is his stipulation of parole.”

In 2018, after serving 46 years for the murders, Reimann was released from prison on parole after previously being denied several times. Sleezer said his release was against her family’s wishes.

The Illinois Prisoner Review Board voted 8-4 in favor of releasing Reimann on parole.

According to state statutes, Reimann is not allowed to own a firearm; has to check in regularly with a parole officer; has to allow parole officers to search his home, place of employment or other location deemed necessary at any time; and must get permission from officials before leaving the state or if he moves or changes jobs.

“You don’t have to be a victim to make an impact statement, and your support would be greatly appreciated by the families of this horrendous crime,” Sleezer said.

The Illinois Prisoner Review Board Victim Notification Unit web site is at prb.illinois.gov/prbvserv.html.