1990, to purchase oil for her car, but she found that the store had not yet opened. When Avery tried to enter the store again at 8:02 a.m., she found that it was still closed. However, Avery walked up to the front doors, peered inside, and pounded on the glass. She briefly caught a glimpse of a man inside the store whom she thought may have been Allen. However, it was determined that Avery gave two conflicting statements. Six days after the murders, she was unable to identify the individual that she saw in the store. Thereafter, she saw Allen on television and called the prosecutor's office to inform them that the person they arrested was not the one she saw.
Fred McGill was inside the Osco store onAugust 25, 1990, around 8:20 a.m. His statement to the police indicated that he saw two women in the store. Apparently, Holvoet had directed McGill to the section of the store where the razor blades were displayed and then continued toward the back of the store. McGill did not buy the blades, so he left the Osco and went across the street to Kroger. A receipt from Kroger *355 indicated that McGill made a purchase there at 8:37 a.m. The information McGill provided to the police concerning the presence of the Osco store employees was corroborated by Marge Gaertner  another customer  who was also in the store. McGill died in 1995, and this information was never conveyed to the jury. Moreover, although Gaertner was on Allen's