Police arrived at the house in the western suburb of
Jeffrey and
Police found three other people in the home: the
couple’s daughter Angela, 25, who had called 911; the couple’s oldest
son, Anthony, 29, who was climbing out a basement window when officers
arrived; and a 17-year-old girlfriend of
The eldest son apparently had his bedroom in the basement, Pavelchik said, explaining why he was crawling out of the window.
Officers were talking to all three at the police station, Pavelchik said, but none of the them is being regarded as a suspect.
All three victims were shot but no weapon has been
found in the house so far, he said. “If it’s in the house, we haven’t
found it,” Pavelchik said. He said police do not believe the slayings
were part of a murder-suicide.
Pavelchik said the house appeared to have been
targeted but would not elaborate. “I don’t believe it was a random
act,” he told reporters.
Earlier, the police chief said “the neighborhood is
not in danger … It doesn’t appear there’s a suspect running around
the neighborhood.”
Friends described the victims as loving, outgoing neighbors who went out of their way to help others.
“They were phenomenal people,” said
She said
tailgate parties in his garage at the start of every Bears season, and
would help her fix her car or things around the house. Kramer ran a
repair shop in
“They’re awesome parents, awesome neighbors, hard-working people,” she said.
The family had struggled through tragedy in 2007 when Angela was injured and her fiancee was killed while riding a motorcycle.
Angela was riding on the back of her fiancee’s
motorcycle when a sports utility vehicle swerved in front of them and
caused them to crash, according to an employee at Kramer’s Auto Repair
& Towing.
The fiancee,
killed and Angela suffered broken legs, the employee said. “I know she
was very hurt in the accident and very torn up about it,” he said. News
reports at the time said Hetman was pinned against the SUV and Angela
was thrown from the cycle.
The two had planned to marry after Hetman had found a job.
Workers at the repair shop said
“His family came first,” the worker said. “I’m sure
it was the first thing he thought of in the morning and the last thing
he thought of before he went to bed.”
A family friend,
Whoever killed them, he said, are “sick and cold
hearted. I hope they get caught and they pay for it. There’s nothing
this family did wrong.”
A neighbor who lives across the street,
“I have no idea why they would be targeted as the
police said,” she said. “They were friendly people, outgoing. They
extended themselves to us when we moved in.”
As police watched the home Tuesday morning, a
distraught man ran past police tape surrounding the property before
being stopped by police and turned away from the home.
The man stopped near a truck parked on the driveway
and doubled over as he sobbed uncontrollably. Police walked him away
from the home.
—
(c) 2010, Chicago Tribune.
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