The search for clues

Originally published Jan. 11, 1993

The investigation into the deaths of seven employees of the Brown's Chicken & Pasta restaurant in Palatine intensified Sunday as police spread out to several sites to methodically search for evidence.

At the cordoned-off restaurant, police searched through a trash container and even climbed onto the roof seeking clues.

Police also carried several plastic bags of possible evidence from the Elgin home of Martin E. Blake, a former employee of the Brown's restaurant who reportedly had been fired recently.

Blake, a 1987 graduate of Fremd High School in Palatine, is in police custody but has not been charged with anything.