Deena David: Body of missing woman found in relative's closet
Indigo Ace
Body of missing woman found in relative's closet; suspect held
By Dan P. Blake | Tribune staff reporter
7:21 AM CDT, July 23, 2007
A woman missing since last week was found slain inside a plastic
garbage bag in a closet at a relative's home on the city's Northwest
Side, and police said they had a suspect in custody.
The victim, 35, was found during a well-being check at a building in
the 3600 block of West Belmont Avenue around 9 p.m. Sunday, said
Chicago Police Officer David Banks. Police launched a homicide
investigation, but Banks said it was not immediately clear how the
woman was killed and detectives are waiting the results of an autopsy
later today.
WGN-Ch. 9 reported that Deena David, a mother of two, was last seen
Wednesday night at a relative's home, and other relatives reported her
disappearance to police.
Some relatives expressed outrage that police had not taken the case
more seriously, and said that one officer refused to enter the house
because of the odor. They said it was relatives, not police, who
discovered the body.
The Cook County medical examiner's office said the woman had not been
identified by the office as of this morning. Relatives identified her
to WGN.
Police declined to provide information on the suspect.
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070723david-homicide,1,4529036.story
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Jonesiecactus
"Indigo Ace" <indi...@seesignature.com> wrote in message
news:46a4ae4e....@news.prodigy.net...
Who the devil is the relative do you suppose? And who are these relatives
who spoke with WGN? I can see why the police aren't talking - more reasons
than one.
For some reason this reminded me of the story of the young woman who came
home from work and disappeared into her room and disappeared. Found weeks
later behind a big piece of furniture on which a faulty tv sat; she'd had to
wiggle its cord or something and fell, got upsidedown, wedged, in back of
the furniture. So weird. No murder tho, unlike this case.
jc
Indigo Ace
<Lon...@Faraway.com> wrote:
>Who the devil is the relative do you suppose? And who are these relatives
>who spoke with WGN? I can see why the police aren't talking - more reasons
>than one.
Okay, they've got more info this afternoon. Turns out the suspect is
the former boyfriend of the victim's mother & they found the body in
his apartment. (Her mother died "some time ago".) So did the
boyfriend break up with the mother while she was still alive, or is he
considered "former" because the mother died awhile back? I wouldn't
consider him to be a relative of the daughter/victim, though.
From the Chicago Tribune--
Man arrested at O'Hare after body found
Missing woman's remains found in Northwest Side home
By Jason Meisner and Dan P. Blake | Tribune staff reporters
1:40 PM CDT, July 23, 2007
A man suspected in the slaying of a woman whose body was found stuffed
in a garbage bag in a Northwest Side apartment was arrested at O'Hare
International Airport this morning with a one-way ticket to Mexico
City.
Chicago police identified the suspect as the former boyfriend of the
victim's dead mother and said he had "a very close personal
relationship" with the victim, Deena David, 35, who was reported
missing Saturday.
He was being questioned this afternoon at the Grand Central Area
headquarters, but no charges had been filed. David's body was found
during a well-being check at the suspect's apartment in the 3600 block
of West Belmont Avenue around 9 p.m. Sunday, Deputy Chief of
Detectives Michael Chasen said at a news conference at police
headquarters. Family members who noticed a suspicious odor coming from
the apartment forced entry and found her decomposed body in a bedroom
closet.
After identifying the suspect in the slaying, detectives early today
e-mailed his photo to investigators at O'Hare, who spotted him at the
airport's International Terminal about 2:30 a.m., police said. He was
carrying a one-way ticket to Mexico City on a flight scheduled to
depart less than an hour later.
Some of David's relatives today expressed outrage that a police
officer called to the home Sunday refused to enter the apartment. They
said the officer left because of the odor, forcing them to break in
themselves and discover the remains. But Chasen said the officer spoke
with the building owner, who said he believed the odor was caused by
garbage.
"He would not permit the officer to force entry into the building,"
Chasen said.
Without a search warrant, police are only permitted to force entry
into private residences in urgent cases, such as an "immediate
pursuit" or if an officer believes a crime is in progress, Chasen
said.
"Police do not have the right to knock doors down just on someone's
say-so," Chasen said.
The case began as a missing-person investigation Saturday after
David's sister reported to police that David had not been seen since
late Wednesday, Chasen said. After family members could not find her
at her home on West Eddy Street, they went to the Belmont District
station to file a report.
Relatives noticed the odor at the suspect's apartment around 3 p.m.
Sunday and called police, he said.
David's body had "suffered a great deal of decomposition," and the
cause of death was not immediately known, Chasen said. An autopsy was
being conducted today by the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Chasen said the suspect has "made a statement implicating himself" in
David's death, but he would not elaborate. The victim's mother died
some time ago, he said.
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-070723david-homicide,0,6228037.story
>For some reason this reminded me of the story of the young woman who came
>home from work and disappeared into her room and disappeared. Found weeks
>later behind a big piece of furniture on which a faulty tv sat; she'd had to
>wiggle its cord or something and fell, got upsidedown, wedged, in back of
>the furniture. So weird. No murder tho, unlike this case.
Yeah, I remember that case. That *was* a weird one.
Jonesiecactus
> On Tue, 24 Jul 2007 01:00:49 +1000, "Jonesiecactus"
> <Lon...@Faraway.com> wrote:
>
>>Who the devil is the relative do you suppose? And who are these relatives
>>who spoke with WGN? I can see why the police aren't talking - more reasons
>>than one.
>
> Okay, they've got more info this afternoon. Turns out the suspect is
> the former boyfriend of the victim's mother & they found the body in
> his apartment. (Her mother died "some time ago".) So did the
> boyfriend break up with the mother while she was still alive, or is he
> considered "former" because the mother died awhile back? I wouldn't
> consider him to be a relative of the daughter/victim, though.
The previous report probably was fast and loose with the word 'relative'.
Maybe it was HIS relative(s) who found her body and implicated him? If he
was with her mother for long, maybe their extended families got
intermingled. What kind of a close personal relationship did he and daughter
of his gf have, I wonder.
If a dead body is smelled, I'm pretty sure that is reason enough for police
to legally break in.
> "Police do not have the right to knock doors down just on someone's
> say-so," Chasen said.
>
> The case began as a missing-person investigation Saturday after
> David's sister reported to police that David had not been seen since
> late Wednesday, Chasen said. After family members could not find her
> at her home on West Eddy Street, they went to the Belmont District
> station to file a report.
>
> Relatives noticed the odor at the suspect's apartment around 3 p.m.
> Sunday and called police, he said.
So, they mean HER "relatives"? Who knows?
> David's body had "suffered a great deal of decomposition," and the
> cause of death was not immediately known, Chasen said. An autopsy was
> being conducted today by the Cook County medical examiner's office.
>
> Chasen said the suspect has "made a statement implicating himself" in
> David's death, but he would not elaborate. The victim's mother died
> some time ago, he said.
>
> Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
> http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-070723david-homicide,0,6228037.story
>
>>For some reason this reminded me of the story of the young woman who came
>>home from work and disappeared into her room and disappeared. Found weeks
>>later behind a big piece of furniture on which a faulty tv sat; she'd had
>>to
>>wiggle its cord or something and fell, got upsidedown, wedged, in back of
>>the furniture. So weird. No murder tho, unlike this case.
>
> Yeah, I remember that case. That *was* a weird one.
Looks like this one is concluded then, with the guy making statements
implicating himself. Still would like to know why he did it.
jc
Indigo Ace
<Lon...@Faraway.com> wrote:
>"Indigo Ace" <indi...@seesignature.com> wrote in message
>news:46a6ffe1....@news.prodigy.net...
>> On Tue, 24 Jul 2007 01:00:49 +1000, "Jonesiecactus"
>> <Lon...@Faraway.com> wrote:
>>
>>>Who the devil is the relative do you suppose? And who are these relatives
>>>who spoke with WGN? I can see why the police aren't talking - more reasons
>>>than one.
>>
>> Okay, they've got more info this afternoon. Turns out the suspect is
>> the former boyfriend of the victim's mother & they found the body in
>> his apartment. (Her mother died "some time ago".) So did the
>> boyfriend break up with the mother while she was still alive, or is he
>> considered "former" because the mother died awhile back? I wouldn't
>> consider him to be a relative of the daughter/victim, though.
>
>The previous report probably was fast and loose with the word 'relative'.
>Maybe it was HIS relative(s) who found her body and implicated him? If he
>was with her mother for long, maybe their extended families got
>intermingled. What kind of a close personal relationship did he and daughter
>of his gf have, I wonder.
I think the early reports said the apartment belonged to a relative
because her half-sister spent a couple of nights there (she was the
one who reported Deena missing). Anyway. Here's a more complete
story from today's Trib--
Slaying suspect nabbed at O'Hare
Woman was found in large plastic bag stuffed inside closet
By Azam Ahmed and Jason Meisner | Tribune staff reporters
7:11 AM CDT, July 24, 2007
A man suspected in the slaying of a woman whose body was found stuffed
in a garbage bag in a Northwest Side apartment was arrested at O'Hare
International Airport on Monday morning with a one-way ticket to
Mexico City.
The police said the suspect was a former boyfriend of the victim's
mother. Family members said the man was infatuated with Deena David,
35, and that he had threatened her life before.
David's body was discovered Sunday by family members who noticed a
suspicious odor coming from the apartment and kicked down the door
before finding her decomposed body in a bedroom closet.
The man was apprehended early Monday morning, less than one hour
before he was to board a flight to Mexico City. Detectives e-mailed
his photo to investigators at O'Hare, who spotted him at the airport's
International Terminal about 2:30 a.m., police said.
The case began as a missing-person investigation Saturday after
David's half-sister, Maria Ramirez, reported that David had been
missing since late Wednesday.
Relatives noticed the odor at the suspect's apartment around 3 p.m.
Sunday and called police.
An autopsy conducted Monday determined that she had been strangled,
and her death was ruled a homicide.
Deputy Chief of Detectives Michael Chasen said the suspect had "made a
statement implicating himself" in David's death, but he would not
elaborate.
Ramirez said she last saw her half-sister on Wednesday when they were
at a bar together. David had forgotten her ID and left, and no one
heard from her after that, Ramirez said.
Ramirez said she slept in the Belmont Avenue apartment on Wednesday
and again on Friday, but did not notice an odor.
"Having me sleeping in there knowing my sister is in another room
bagged up, it's just sick," Ramirez said.
On Saturday, Ramirez said, she looked into the bedroom where the body
was found and smelled something she thought was just "dirty laundry."
Later that day, she filed the missing-person report.
When they went back to the apartment on Sunday the odor was
overwhelming, Ramirez said.
She cried as she described feeling around in the bedroom closet and
finding her sister's remains wrapped in a large, black trash bag.
David had two children, ages 12 and 11, Ramirez said.
"I'm just really hurt right now. She was a person really close to me,"
Ramirez said. "She was a good mother and a great person."
Some of David's relatives on Monday expressed outrage that a police
officer called to the home Sunday refused to enter the apartment.
But police countered that without a search warrant, police can only
break in for urgent cases, such as an immediate pursuit or if an
officer believes a crime is in progress. In this particular case, they
said, the landlord would not permit the officer to force entry.
-----------
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-deenadeadjul24,1,817584.story
Jonesiecactus
he had threatened her life before." Ah. Makes sense, why didn't they just
say so. Of course. When I was young, men would often indicate their interest
in me by threatening my life, sure.
As for the police officer. Maybe I'm not reading it right. Why did anyone
need to "break in"? The half-sister was staying there on a regular basis.
Doesn't matter now I guess. Poor half-sister, feeling around in the closet
for the remains, Lard. Oh man.
jc