Unsolved Murder: Masked Killer Shoots 'Bobby D' Inside Tavern

BRAIDWOOD — About 25 miles south of Joliet remains one of the most troubling small-town, Main Street murder mysteries in Will County. Twenty years ago, on May 22, 2004, 40-year-old Robert Dransfeldt, known affectionately around Braidwood as "Bobby D," was sitting on his bar stool, minding his own business, having a beer.

Suddenly, a masked gunman entered the Kevinigan's Tavern at 230 E. Main St., concealing his face with a bandana. At least a dozen people were inside the bar that Saturday night, but the gunman was only looking for one — Bobby D.

Two gunshots were fired at point-blank range.

One bullet entered the right side of Bobby D's face. The second bullet entered the right side of his chest. The gunman darted outside and he was never captured. An ambulance rushed Bobby D to the Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee, where he died.

"He had so many friends," his mother Cheri Dransfeldt remarked during last week's interview with Joliet Patch. "There had to be over 200 people who came to that funeral because they knew him and loved him. Bobby D. Everybody knew Bobby D. That's what he was called."

Even though 20 years have passed as Braidwood's Main Street murder remains unsolved, Cheri Dransfeldt and her husband, Robert "Bob" Dransfeldt, both in their 80s, still cling to hope that the Braidwood Police Department can locate their son's killer and make an arrest.

"It was a weird situation," Bobby D's mother reflected. "He was sitting on the stool and whoever it was, he had a handkerchief over his face and nobody looked up fast enough to see who it was.

"We have no idea why or who did it."

Bob Dransfeldt remarked, "we assume it was drugs, but I don't know ... there's nothing we can do to bring him back."

Cheri Dransfeldt said, "we were hoping somebody would decide who did it. We've never found out who did it."

The parents believe the murder investigation from 2004 got off on the wrong track because the police department made Dransfeldt's wife the focus of their probe. According to Bob and Cheri Dransfeldt, the Braidwood police detective assigned to the case 20 years ago focused his attention on their son's wife, Anna. However, Bob and Cheri Dransfeldt told Patch last week that they always believed Anna had absolutely nothing to do with her husband's slaying.

"He was trying to scare her into saying" something incriminating, Cheri Dransfeldt said of the initial detective. "He kept asking, 'Who called or paid someone to do this?' She cried and cried and said, 'I loved him. I loved him.'"

These days, Detective Sgt. Christopher Altiery of the Braidwood Police Department is tasked with solving the 20-year-old murder mystery. Altiery told Joliet Patch that the case remains his highest priority, and there's no unsolved crime in Braidwood he wants to solve more.

After last week's interview, Patch asked Detective Altiery whether Anna has been cleared in connection with her husband's death.

"Anna is not a person of interest in the homicide at this point in time," Altiery responded by email.

Despite the passage of 20 years, Altiery said he hopes there are people out there who can help him identify the killer and narrow down the motive for Bobby D's murder.

"We have theories, but nothing definitive," Altiery explained.

Altiery believes Bobby D's killer is probably is in his late 50s now.

At the time of the killing, Braidwood's Police Department did not identify or locate any suspected getaway vehicle. It's possible the killer lived near Braidwood and ran home under the cloak of darkness. And it's also possible the killer parked his vehicle several blocks away from the Main Street tavern and avoided police detection by leaving town on Route 113, Route 129 or Interstate 55, Altiery said.

The slaying was reported to Braidwood police at 11:02 p.m.

These days, the former Kevinigan's Tavern no longer exists. It was demolished several years ago, and a Family Dollar store was built in its place.

At the time of the slaying, Kevinigan's "did have a camera system, (but) there was no video (police) were able to use though," Altiery explained.

In light of the 20th anniversary of the unsolved murder, Altiery is hoping the republishing of the killer's sketch will prompt someone to recognize the person and contact him with leads.

According to Altiery, the killer wore a baseball hat and sunglasses, perhaps. He was average height, about 5-foot-10, and he weighed 170 pounds. The killer also had long hair or facial hair and looked to be in his 30s or 40s.

During Dransfeldt's final moments, "he was sitting at the bar minding his own business, having a drink," Altiery explained. "This person entered the establishment from outside, confronted the victim, and left. They walked in. They opened the door and fired at least two gunshots.

"This was obviously premeditated with a specific target in mind," Altiery pointed out. "Someone opened the front door, two shots, and they leave."

From the time the gunman entered Kevinigan's and shot Dransfeldt twice before exiting the front door, it took "15 to 20 seconds," Altiery estimated.

Anybody with information who can help solve Bobby D's murder is asked to call Altiery at the Braidwood Police Department, 815-458-2341.

"There is nothing more I would like to do than solve this case and get the justice the family deserves," Altiery told Joliet Patch.

Dransfeldt was buried outside Braidwood at the Oakwood Cemetery. His parents live about a mile away and visit his grave often. The Dransfeldt family encountered more tragedy in August 2018 when Bobby D's 21-year-old son, Dustin Dransfeldt of Wilmington, died in a head-on crash along Shorewood's Route 59 near School Road.

Bobby D's parents believe the key to identifying the killer goes back to the small crowd gathered inside Kevinigan's that Saturday night, May 22, 2004. However, they were not familiar with Kevinigan's or their son's acquaintances at the bar.

"We're not bar people at all," remarked Bob Dransfeldt, 87, who proudly served in the U.S. Army. "Even in the service, I didn't drink."

"Maybe someone in that tavern knew what happened, but they wouldn't talk," Bobby D's mother, Cheri, suggested. "We have no idea if someone intended to kill Bobby or just wanted to shoot somebody in that tavern.

"Half of Braidwood knew Bobby D, and why did someone shoot him? It would be nice to find out who did it."