By Chad Anderson 21

Police investigating Wednesday’s homicide of a 29-year-old Carbondale woman announced at a press conference Thursday that the victim likely knew her attacker.

Investigators are asking for community help because, as of press time, they had not identified any suspects after reviewing more than 100 leads in the case.

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The body of Pamela A. Travis was removed from apartment 1504 of The Fields Apartments, 700 S. Lewis Lane, at about 11 a.m. Wednesday after residents of the complex notified maintenance that smoke alarms were going off in the apartment. Residents told police they heard the alarms as early as 8 a.m.

A maintenance man entered the apartment shortly before 11 a.m. and removed the 22-month-old twin daughters of the victim. The two children were taken to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale and treated for smoke-related injuries.

The children remain in satisfactory condition and will be kept at the hospital until the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services determines a proper future for the children, police said.

There was a small fire in Travis’ bedroom, police said, but it burned itself out prior to their arrival.

Carbondale Police Chief Don Strom said preliminary autopsy reports indicated that Travis died of asphyxiation. He said police believe the fire occurred after her death.

Travis was found in her bedroom of the two-room apartment, and the children were found in separate room.

The fire was located close to her body. Travis did suffer some burns to her body, however, I will not comment any further on the specific injuries, Strom said.

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The time of the fire or death have not been determined. The apartment did not suffer serious damage in the fire.

Strom would not comment if an accelerant was used in the fire, but investigators used the Carbondale Fire Department’s new accelerant-sniffing dog at the crime scene Wednesday.

Sgt. Luanne Brown said the fire produced enough smoke that the children suffered smoke-related injuries and were covered with smoke residue while in a separate room of the apartment.

It’s highly unlikely the children were exposed to their dead mother, Brown said. They were whisked away pretty quick.

Strom said police believe Travis knew her attacker because there were no signs of forced entry. Investigators also collected evidence other than that of the fire, Strom said, but he would not elaborate.

Police canvassed the neighborhood and were conducting a checkpoint Thursday of all vehicles coming into and leaving the complex. Police also are investigating reports from witnesses who saw people around the apartment that night. Travis was last seen alive between 10 and 11 p.m. Tuesday night, Strom said.

We have conflicting reports about people coming and going from the apartment Tuesday night, he said.

Travis was not married, and police are unsure if she was involved in a relationship at the time of her death. Investigators conducted interviews with family members and associates of Travis on Thursday.

Travis, originally from Murphysboro, moved to The Fields and lived there alone with her daughters for more than a year. She was unemployed at the time of her death.

Wednesday’s homicide is the fifth in Carbondale since June 1996. In August 1996, Terrance Mitchell, 16, of Carbondale, and James Austin Campbell, 15, of Murphysboro, were shot and killed by Labron C. Neal, 18, of Carbondale, outside a party at Carbondale Mobile Homes. On Sept. 9, Neal was convicted on six counts of first-degree murder in that case and is awaiting sentencing.

The two other homicides occurred in Carbondale’s southeast side and remain unsolved. Connie Cole-Holmes was found murdered in her Walker Street home in June 1996, and the body of Jerome Douglas Townsend was found in Snider Hill Cemetery in February.

Strom said there are 21 investigators working on the Travis homicide. SIU Police, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Illinois State Police and the FBI are assisting the Carbondale Police and fire departments in the investigation.

We’re trying to do this in a very methodical process, Strom said. Our best guess is that this does not appear to be a random attack.

Anyone with information about the case can call the Carbondale Police at 457-3200 or Carbondale Crime Stoppers at 549-2677 to leave an anonymous tip.