Vernon Hills police are searching for two "persons of interest" after discovering the body of a woman apparently beaten to death in her Vernon Hills home this morning.
The two are believed to be traveling in a 2009 silver Nissan Rogue SUV with Illinois license plate 4219607, according to Vernon Hills Police Sgt. Pat Zimmerman.
The car is registered to the dead woman, Marina Aksman, 50, and her husband. Zimmerman said it was taken from the home.
He said police are conducting a "pointed search" for the car and the people, but would not say where the search is being concentrated.
"It was not a random act. We know who we are looking for,'' Zimmerman said.
Aksman was found on a bed in one of the bedrooms in the home in the 1800 block of Olympic Drive in the north suburb. Zimmerman said police found what they believe to be the murder weapon in the home.
Police discovered Aksman's body about 5 a.m. after being called to the home because of a car on the front lawn.
The silver car was crashed against the front of the home, police say. Around back, officers discovered that a glass panel on a door had been shattered. They then found Aksman.
Lake County Coroner Dr. Richard Keller said the car was a focus of the investigation. "It's what the investigation is centering on now. . . that it's all related," Keller said.
He said preliminary details indicate Aksman died of blunt trauma. An autopsy is scheduled for later today, he said, but the case is being investigated as a homicide.
A neighbor, Glenn Hartman, said he was awakened by a noise around 3:30 a.m. but didn't think much of it and went back to sleep.
Then at 7 a.m., flashing lights and throngs of police cars greeted him as he started his morning. "(Police) are all around us," he said. "We guessed by the amount of activity that somebody must have died. There are probably two dozen cars that don't belong.
"This is a very quiet neighborhood," Hartman said. "It was originally supposed to be for older people who retired. Part of this community is on a golf course".
Another neighbor, Darlene Cherry, said police have been "very closed-mouth" about what happened.
"They didn't say how, when or even that it was a murder," Cherry said. "They did say the car crashed there around 4:30 in the morning".
Not too many of the neighbors know each other in the quiet community, she said, but she said the family in the house was was pleasant.
"They always said hello," Cherry said. "The husband would usually answer the door and was very nice."
-- Carlos Sadovi, Duaa Eldeib, Dan Simmons
Chicago Tribune
