If Only They Had A Gun

A partially undressed woman was found strangled to death in Suburban Markham yesterday morning.  Police say that Sheila Nelson, a 47 year old woman from Harvey, was found murdered in a wooded area, near 160th Street and Oakley Avenue just before 10AM on Sunday.  Nelson was strangled to death, and a belt was around her neck.  An investigation is underway to determine whether Nelson was sexually assault, and police believe that her body was dumped in the wooded area from a car.  More information here.

New Orleans police said an elderly couple was killed Sunday morning. Officers arrived at the 5400 block of Seminary Place just after 8 a.m, where the front door had been broken into. The elderly couple was found murdered inside. More information here.

On Monday morning, 73 year old Florence McCollum of Chicago was fatally stabbed in a building owned by her cousin, who had asked for her help with the laundry. She was in a downstairs apartment of her cousin’s building in the 3400 block of South Giles when she was attacked, possibly by a burglar. McCollum was known as an individual who volunteered at a food pantry, taught religion, and cared for her older cousin, according to friends and family. More information here.

Enraged that his girlfriend walked out on him with their child, a Hoffman Estates man fatally stabbed the woman’s father, sister and grandmother and critically injured her mother during a bloody attack outlined by prosecutors Saturday. Most of the eight people there were sleeping when Howard showed up at 1:30 a.m. Friday, prosecutors said. Soon the couple began arguing again—waking those sleeping above the first-floor family room. A bloody killing spree soon followed.  More information here.

Chicago police are searching for a 19 year old man who is wanted in connection with the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend. Police say that they have probable cause to believe that 19 year old Orlin Ortiz fatally stabbed his girlfriend, Maribel Moreno, of the 4300 block of West Thomas Street. Moreno was found dead Thursday at 2:30AM in her home. Witnesses say that multiple people were fighting in the residence immediately before the stabbing occurred. More information here.

A manhunt is under way in Bethany as Bethany police, Oklahoma City police and US marshals look for a man accused of kidnapping, beating and raping a woman earlier today. Ivan Harrison, 22, is believed to have kidnapped a woman at gunpoint on N Rockwell Avenue in Oklahoma City at 4:30 p.m., said Bethany police Lt. Phillip Wise. More information here.

Police have arrested a door-to-door magazine salesman accused of raping an elderly Grand Prairie, TX woman and then setting setting her on fire. The 78-year-old victim was assaulted Monday at home, doused with rubbing alcohol and set on fire. Brimmer said the woman was hospitalized Wednesday with second-degree burns. Her name has not been disclosed. More information here.

On April 25, 2008, Armando Jacobo dropped off his girlfriend after a date that had ended with a fight. He later returned and began to beat and kick both his girlfriend and her father. With a tree branch, he ripped his girlfriend’s lip off her face and left her eyes swollen shut from the beating. Jacobo also beat and kicked the woman’s father when he tried to save his daughter, breaking the man’s ankle, knocking out some of his teeth, and causing him severe brain injuries. The judge called this “one of the most vicious attacks on two human beings I’ve ever seen.” Armando Jacobo, a 23 year old man from Joliet, plead guilty to attempted murder and aggravated battery on a senior citizen, and was sentenced to 25 years on those charges.  More information here.

Authorities trying to unravel the mystery of a rampage at a North Carolina nursing home that left eight dead said the shooting spree wasn’t a “random act of violence.” One suspect is in custody. More information here.

Adam Mapleson, 26, of Rayleigh, told jurors he tried to help a security guard at Rayleigh station in May 2007. He said he saw a robber running and body-checked him. He saw a gun and put his arms up but the robber opened fire. More information here.

Armed men struck an Oak Cliff apartment complex late Tuesday, holding a baby at gunpoint and robbing her mother before fatally shooting a 32-year-old man and injuring his two brothers in a separate incident. Investigators believe the three robbers first accosted the baby’s mother in the complex parking lot in the 300 block of North Ewing Avenue, near East Eighth Street. The men then went to her apartment, where she lives with her husband and five children. One robber held a gun to the woman’s 10-month-old daughter’s head, police said. The men stole nearly $2,000 worth of cash and electronics. Minutes later, the robbers encountered one of the brothers on a second-floor balcony and forced him into his apartment, police said. Police do not believe the shootings were drug- or gang-related, Miller said. More information here.

A 20 year old man from the West Side of Chicago has been charged in connection with a 3 day robbery and rape spree against unarmed victims. More information here.

A Chicago man was shot in the thigh after an armed robber was angered by his lack of money. At 10:30PM on Wednesday, a 30 year old man was walking to a friend’s house on the 6200 block of South Francisco Avenue when an armed robber came up behind him and demanded money. The man replied that he had no money, at which point the gunman shot him in the back of his right thigh and then fled. The victim was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn for treatment. The gunman was described as an 18-year-old Hispanic man wearing a dark-colored hood, and remains at large.  More information here.

A pair of teenagers, aged 16 and 18, have been charged with attempted first degree murder, armed robbery, and aggravated battery in connection with the home invasion robbery and stabbing of a Streamwood man. Police say that a 16 year old Schaumburg High School student, 18 year old Carmichael Nation (a Jamaican national), and a 3rd accomplice who is at large, entered the home of a Streamwood man to steal a safe on Saturday morning. The suspects allegedly held down the victim, stabbed him in the stomach, chest, and legs, and robbed him. The victim has undergone extensive surgery to repair the damage caused by the stabbing that he suffered, and is reportedly in stable condition as St. Alexius Hospital. More information here.

Chicago police are searching for a trio of suspects, including one that impersonated a police officers, in the rape of woman on the West Side.  The woman was driving down the 3400 block of West Chicago Avenue when a person impersonating a cop flashed his headlights and pulled the woman’s car over.  She turned over her driver’s license and followed the suspect to another location, as the fake cop demanded.  Upon arriving at that location, the woman was sexually assaulted by another suspect.  A third suspect was also involved, however his role in the crime is not clear.  More information here.

Wilmette police found the three bodies in a house on the 800 block of Greenleaf Avenue while performing a well being check on the occupants. Preliminary evidence is said to suggest that the man fatally shot the woman and the teenager before turning the gun on himself. Police are withholding the names of the individuals until their families can be notified.
UPDATE: The man who lived at the house in question was reportedly sentenced to 30 years in prison for stabbing his 25-year-old wife to death back in 1985. He claimed insanity, saying that he committed that homicide while suffering from “intermittent explosive disorder.”
UPDATE 2: Neighbors have identified the shooter as Richard C. Wiley, and his victims as Kathy Wiley-Motes and her son Christopher Motes.  Kathy was a church office coordinator, and Chris was a 17 year old student at New Trier.  More information here.

Two men from Kankakee, IL have been charged with armed robbery and possession of a stolen vehicle after police say that they carjacked a good Samaritan who tried to help them after their car rolled over on I-57. Police say that 28 year old James A. Tallent, and 27 year old William C. Blunt, two men from Kankakee, were involved in a rollover crash on I-57, near 139th Street at about 4:30AM yesterday. A good Samaritan saw the rolled over vehicle, and stopped his 2000 Lexus SUV to try and help. Tallent and Blunt then allegedly threw the good Samaritan to the ground and stole his vehicle. Police reportedly found the stolen Lexus near Blunt’s home, where one of the men was arrested. The other man was arrested shortly thereafter in a nearby apartment building. Police also say that about half an hour before the rollover crash and carjacking, one or possibly both of the suspects was involved in the robbery of the Bradley, Illinois BP Fast and Fresh gas station. In that robbery, one man is said to have entered the gas station, armed with a black handgun, and demanded “all” the money. The man then pistol whipped an employee, and ordered him into the cooler, before stealing cash, beer, and other items, according to police.  More information here.

Police in the Northwestern suburb of Huntley are investigating a double homicide which they believe was not a “random act.” Huntley police were performing a wellbeing check on a woman named Jennifer Beaudion, 33, when they found her and a 39 year old male dead from gunshot wounds on the 11000 block of Janice Drive. The identity of the male victim is being withheld until his family is notified, according to police. Huntley Police Chief John Perkins believes that the murders are not random, and say that the community is in “no danger as a result of this incident.” Details are few as the investigation unfolds, but more information is expected to be forthcoming.  More information here.

Police have charged a suspect with the January 24, 2009 murders of Nova Henry, an ex of former Bulls basketball player Eddy Curry, and her 9 month old daughter Ava Curry. Police allege that 36 year old Frederick Goings entered Nova Henry’s South Loop apartment, and then killed her and the young child after a dispute. Police also say that they have forensic and surveillance evidence against Goings, who had previously had an order of protection against him after allegedly stalking Henry. More information here.

Police said that on Tuesday night in Colorado, 35-year-old James Martin followed his ex-girlfriend, 34-year-old Amber Cremeens, after she left the gym. When she realized that he was following her, she called her current boyfriend. He then called 911, and tried to help her drive to safety. However it appears that Martin was able to run Cremeens off the road, and then fatally shoot her. More information here.