Episode 176: Yarianna Wheeler

When the body of a pregnant teen is found in Lake Michigan, investigators must retrace her steps to find the truth. What happened to Yarianna Wheeler?

Episode Media

Yarianna Guy Wheeler *(Unidentified Wiki)*

Surveillance image of Yarianna on August 10, 2021 *(Lake County Sheriff’s Office)*

Robert Drummond *(Cook County Sheriff’s Office)*

Episode Sources

Episode Transcript

Welcome back to Bite-Sized Crime. This week I’m bringing you the story of a young woman preparing for a new phase of life when it was tragically ripped away. This episode discusses sensitive topics, so listener discretion is advised.

On the afternoon of Sunday, August 15, 2021, a man out fishing noticed something unusual floating in the waters of Lake Michigan. When he approached, he realized that it was the body of a young woman. The man contacted the United States Coast Guard, who recovered the body about three miles southeast of the Waukegan Harbor, not far from the border of Wisconsin and Illinois.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office put out a media release, hoping that the public could help them identify the woman they referred to as “Lake Michigan Jane Doe.” Although she had been in the water for several days, possibly more than a week, they could tell she was a young Black woman somewhere between the ages of 18 to 40. Her hair was pulled into a bun, her nails were manicured and painted white, and she wore a pink summer dress. But her most distinguishing feature was that she appeared to have been pregnant.

A sketch artist from the Mount Prospect Police Department created a rendering of Jane Doe’s face that was shared with local news outlets and across social media. Surely someone was missing this young woman and would recognize her soon.

During the autopsy, the Lake County Medical Examiner observed that Jane Doe had sustained multiple stab wounds to her chest, back, neck, and arms. Several ribs were fractured, and there was evidence that she may have still been alive when she entered the water. It was also determined that she was approximately seven months pregnant at the time of her death. The medical examiner officially ruled her death a homicide.

Detectives worked with the Coast Guard to study the weather conditions and water currents from the days and weeks prior to the discovery of Jane Doe’s remains. With this information, they believed that Jane Doe likely entered the water somewhere along the western coastline of Lake Michigan, possibly near Chicago or as far down as northern Indiana. Knowing where she started could help them narrow their search for Jane Doe’s identity.

Early in the investigation, investigators became aware of a surveillance image from a Chicago-area business showing a young Black woman, clearly pregnant, wearing a pink summer dress just like Jane Doe’s. They received dozens of tips, including a tip from someone who thought they recognized the woman in the sketch. Using dental records, the medical examiner confirmed that Lake Michigan Jane Doe was 19-year-old Yarianna Wheeler.

Yarianna Guy Wheeler was originally from the village of Bellwood, Illinois, about 15 miles west of downtown Chicago. According to a family member, Yarianna had graduated from Proviso West High School where she played in the band. The COVID-19 pandemic had delayed her plans for college, but she had been accepted to a school in Alabama and was looking forward to attending once restrictions were eased. In February of 2021, Yarianna left Bellwood and moved to Chicago to stay with her boyfriend and his family. Not long after, Yarianna discovered she was pregnant.

While looking into Yarianna’s background, investigators learned that at the time of her death, she had been living in a homeless shelter. It wasn’t clear when or why she had left her boyfriend’s house, but her circumstances could have been the reason why no one had reported her missing.

Investigators were able to get access to Yarianna’s phone data, which helped them pinpoint some of her movements in the days before her death. The last place she had gone was Oakwood Beach, just a few blocks away from her boyfriend’s house and right on the shores of Lake Michigan.

On August 30th, detectives from the Chicago Police Department and evidence technicians from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office descended on Oakwood Beach. Using drones and handheld equipment, they combed the scene for potential evidence. They discovered one of Yarianna’s sandals, her jewelry, and a headwrap, all of which she had been seen wearing in the surveillance footage. Investigators believed that this was the location where Yarianna had been killed.

From this point, Chicago Police Homicide Detectives officially took over the case, since it appeared the homicide had occurred in their jurisdiction. Their next step was to contact Yarianna’s boyfriend, 21-year-old Robert Drummond. On September 9th, Drummond was detained as a person of interest. According to court documents, as he was being taken into custody, Drummond attempted to hand a debit card to a woman at the scene. It was a Link Card, used by Illinois residents to access state food benefits, and it belonged to Yarianna. It seemed unlikely that she would have willingly given up her only source of income.

A few days later, Drummond was released without any charges, but investigators were convinced that he knew more about Yarianna’s death than he was saying. Over the next two months, they worked diligently to collect evidence and piece together a timeline of Yarianna’s last hours.

On Tuesday, August 10th, Yarianna told several people at the shelter that she had bought tickets to the Shedd Aquarium as a belated birthday gift for herself. She had never been to the aquarium before and was excited to see it with her boyfriend. She put on a cute pink dress with sandals and grabbed her pink purse as she headed out.

Surveillance cameras at the aquarium captured Yarianna and Drummond entering and exiting together. They were then spotted at a nearby restaurant, where, at some point during the meal, they got into an argument about whether or not they should see a movie that night. They decided to part ways; Drummond walked to the train station and headed home, and Yarianna called an Uber to take her to the movie theater.

According to court documents, in the short window of time after the couple separated, Yarianna called Drummond’s cell phone over 25 times. Perhaps she was agitated after their argument, because she decided not to see a movie at the theater after all. Instead, at 9:50pm, she called for another Uber.

In between her calls to Drummond, Yarianna was also messaging back and forth with a friend in Bellwood. Shortly before she left the theater, she left a voicemail on her friend’s phone that appeared to have been accidental – it was a message meant for Drummond, telling him that she was headed to Oakwood Beach and wanted to know where she could meet him. When she didn’t hear back from Drummond – likely not realizing she had sent the message to the wrong person – she called him again. The Uber driver later told investigators that Yarianna had been on the phone with someone during the ride. Based on the side of the conversation he could hear, he assumed she was speaking to her boyfriend, and they were discussing where to meet up at the beach. That would be one of the last calls Yarianna would ever make.

At 10:01pm, the Uber driver dropped Yarianna off in the beach parking lot. Phone records showed that she was still on the phone with Drummond as she walked toward the nearly deserted beach. Fifteen minutes later, surveillance video showed Yarianna walking with a man investigators believed to be Drummond, as his cell phone records showed that he was in the area of the beach at the same time. The couple disappeared from view as they approached the water, but just 30 minutes later, the man was seen walking back alone, this time carrying Yarianna’s pink purse. He was next captured on police observation cameras on the same block where Drummond lived, further solidifying investigators’ belief that Robert Drummond was the one who met Yarianna on the beach and ultimately took her life.

The next day, Drummond sent text messages to a woman that investigators believed was another girlfriend. He told the woman that he was going to the hospital to get his hand checked out; he thought he may have injured a nerve. Investigators later found a picture in his phone that he had taken of a cut on his hand, which he got treated at University of Chicago Medical Center. According to court documents, Drummond told hospital personnel that he had injured his hand while cooking, but he told his alleged girlfriend that he had cut it at work. However, Drummond hadn’t been at work for days, and the cut looked fresh.

In the weeks after Yarianna’s death, Drummond used her Link card to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of energy drinks that he gave to his other girlfriend. For investigators, this was just another piece of evidence pointing towards Drummond’s guilt. They believed that he killed Yarianna and their unborn child to avoid the responsibility of parenthood, and then he continued on living as if nothing had happened.

On November 3, 2021, nearly three months after Yarianna’s death, Robert Drummond was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, intentional homicide of an unborn child, and armed robbery. He was booked into the Cook County Jail where he has been held without bond ever since.

In 2024, Drummond filed an appeal with the Appellate Court of Illinois asking for release under a new state law that affected pretrial detention. He argued that the State’s evidence against him was circumstantial. There was no tangible proof that he was the man in the surveillance videos with Yarianna, and his cell phone pinging in the area near the beach was because of the fact that his home was just a few blocks away. He argued that Yarianna had also been dating other people, and the friend she was messaging on August 10th could be an alternative suspect in the crime. Drummond was a model prisoner and had never been convicted of a violent crime prior to his arrest. He requested that the court release him on bond until his trial.

Ultimately, the judge upheld the ruling of the circuit court and Drummond’s request was denied. As of this recording, he is still in jail awaiting trial.

Yarianna Wheeler was a beautiful young woman with her whole life ahead of her. Even in hard times, she was looking forward to a future with her newborn son. Tragically, that future was taken away in a moment. May there soon be justice for Yarianna.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788 for free and confidential help. You don’t have to suffer alone.