Maureen Maher

I was the middle of three girls, my younger sister Nancy and my older sister Jennifer.

It's a community where many Chicagoans move to raise their families, and it was used by filmmaker John Hughes for movies like Home Alone to convey picture-perfect middle America.

It looks pretty idyllic when you're walking down the street.

It's a real quiet, safe community.

That's what made the sound of sirens so shocking that Sunday in April 1990.

Nancy's father, Lee, went to check on his pregnant daughter and her husband.

He had gone to the townhouse and rung the doorbell, and there was no answer.

So he let himself in.

And then noticing the light on in the basement, he went to the top of the basement stairs.

He looked down, and there were Nancy and Richard.

And he could see them.

Frozen to death, his youngest daughter and his son-in-law.

But who would commit such a gruesome and deliberate crime?

It would take a long time to answer that question, and even longer for Nancy's family to find a path to forgiveness.

Two and a half decades later, it is still a work in progress.

How would you describe this 25-year-long journey that you've been taking since your sister's murder?

Oh, I think it's been this incredible adventure.

Oh, the heart of it was Nancy.

Every time I get to say her name, every time I get to tell her story, it's a way of making sure that the world does not forget her.

She was the comedian.