Homicide

[marie]

Posted Oct 26, 2010 @ 01:31 PM
Last update Oct 26, 2010 @ 02:34 PM
   
Berwyn, IL — Berwyn Police say a woman's death early Tuesday morning was ruled a homicide.

A media release issued Tuesday afternoon by Berwyn Police Chief Jim Ritz said police responded to a 911 telephone call at about 1:40 a.m. from an unresponsive female living on the 3300 block of Clarence Avenue.

The woman, who was elderly, was transported to MacNeal Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office determined the death was a homicide.

The Berwyn Police Department criminal investigations unit is currently conducting interviews and crime scene investigators are continuing to process the scene for evidence.

The name of the victim is being withheld until family members are notified.

The case is also being investigated by the Cook County State's Attorney's office.

[chandasz]

They received the phone call from an unresponsive female? How's that possible?

What is going on this week in Berwyn? Awful!

[chandasz]

Elderly woman found strangled in Berwyn
October 26, 2010 3:17 PM | No Comments
Berwyn police have opened a homicide investigation after a 90-year-old woman was killed early this morning.

An autopsy conducted today determined that Josephine Kestian of the 3300 block of Clarence Avenue was strangled and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Berwyn police officials said they were called to the woman's home about 1:40 a.m. for an unresponsive female. When they arrived at the home, they found Kestian. She was taken to MacNeal Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 2:02 a.m., officials said.

The Berwyn Police Department Criminal Investigations Unit is conducting interviews and crime scene investigators are continuing to process the scene for evidence, police said

[berwynguy]

Man, someone who kills an elderly female is a special kind of scum bag.  I believe that the offence becomes elevated when the victim is elderly?  I hope whoever is responsible gets the needle.

[MindoverMatter]

Very sad!

[rudemon]

They received the phone call from an unresponsive female? How's that possible?

What is going on this week in Berwyn? Awful!

It was FOR an unrepsonsive female not from.  I wonder who called 911.

[rudemon]

It does say From an unresponsive woman on Berwyn Life. I guess she was unresponsive when they arrived. Sad.

[pkd50]

I didn't know the lady, but I lived on the 3200 block of Clarence, that area was always quiet. I'm very surprised and saddened to hear this.

[Ted]

The Trib picked up on the story:

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/10/elderly-woman-found-strangled-in-berwyn.html 
 
  Elderly woman found strangled in Berwyn

October 26, 2010 4:43 PM

   Berwyn police have opened a homicide investigation after a 90-year-old woman was killed early this morning.

An autopsy conducted today determined that Josephine Kestian of the 3300 block of Clarence Avenue was strangled and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Berwyn police officials said they received a 911 call to respond to the woman's home about 1:40 a.m. for an unresponsive female. When they arrived at the home, they found Kestian. She was taken to MacNeal Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 2:02 a.m., officials said.

The Berwyn Police Department Criminal Investigations Unit is conducting interviews and crime scene investigators are continuing to process the scene for evidence, police said.

Neighbors said the woman lived with a son at the home, which today had a seal on the door from the Cook County medical examiner's office. No one was at her home today.

The woman lived in a white stucco bungalow with green trim on a tidy block that included other bungalows and two- and three-story houses. The house is two blocks from MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn.

"This is unbelievable," said next-door neighbor Robert Sinder, 72. "We don't know what happened."

He said that Josephine and her late husband, Bill, who died several years ago, owned apartment buildings in Cicero.

Sinder and another neighbor, Glen Mowery, 70, said they rarely saw the woman in recent years except when she would cross the street to attend St. Leonard's Catholic Church. She used a walker, but Sinder said her son recently asked him to come over to watch how much her walking had improved.

A woman at the rectory of St. Leonard's said she was shocked by the news but said she did not know Kestian.

Mowery said Kestian worked as a waitress more than 30 years ago at several restaurants in Berwyn that have since changed hands.

"She had a nice personality," Mowery said.

[BRoWN]

Sun Times:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/2837716,berwyn-woman-strangled-102710.article


Woman, 90, found strangled in Berwyn home
October 26, 2010

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN Staff Reporter
Josephine Kestian had a hard time walking. But despite her bad knees and a pair of hip replacements, the 90-year-old Berwyn resident was often seen strolling with a walker across the street to church on Sundays with her live-in adult son.

Early Tuesday, authorities found Kestian strangled in her home in the  3300 block of Clarence Avenue,  the Cook County Medical  Examiner's Office said. Minutes earlier, someone had placed a 911 call for an unresponsive female at that address, Berwyn police said.

Later Tuesday, the medical examiner's office had sealed the front door of the stucco  bungalow where neighbors said they could often hear Kestian and her son yelling at each other.

Berwyn police wouldn't say whether anyone was in custody late Tuesday, but Cmdr. James Sassetti said the "public was not at risk.''

Kestian used to work as a waitress at two Berwyn restaurants and wouldn't "take crap'' from anyone, including her late husband, next door neighbor Robert  Sinder said.

Sinder, a former custodian at the adjacent St. Leonard Catholic  Church, said he often heard mother and son arguing.

"They're at it again,'' Sinder, 72, recalled telling his wife when  he'd hear the raised voices.

Police were sometimes called to the home when tempers flared, others said.

"She was a feisty little old lady,'' neighbor Tom Pohl, 58, said of Kestian.

"She was the block watchdog.''

Neighbors believed Kestian might have other children who live out of  state.

[Diona]

Sad, very sad to hear about this lady. 

It's not what's happening in Berwyn THIS WEEK, it's what's happening in Berwyn in general.  It seems there are MANY MORE bad articles about Berwyn than anything good lately.  Sure I read a couple good threads here, but the bad seems to outweigh the good.

Very sad indeed for this town.

[The Jackal]

Apparently, this woman worked at the old Blue Fountain in the 70's.

[Terri]

Her son is charged.
###

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/10/man-charged-in-strangulation-of-berwyn-woman.html

Berwyn man charged in strangulation of elderly mom
October 27, 2010
A man has been charged in the slaying of his 90-year-old mother in Berwyn this week.

Joseph Kestian, 58, 3300 S. Clarence Ave., in Berwyn, has been charged with count of first-degree murder in the slaying, said Andy Conklin, a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.

Josephine Kestian, 90, was found strangled early Tuesday in the home neighbors and public records indicate the two shared. Neighbors said Josephine Kestian lived with her son, but Conklin said he did not know the suspect's relationship to the victim.

Joseph Kestian is the son of the Josephine, according to the man's former wife.
Joseph Kestian was scheduled to appear in Maybrook Branch Court Thursday morning for a bond hearing.

[dukesdad]

It's not what's happening in Berwyn THIS WEEK, it's what's happening in Berwyn in general.

Sad story, truth is though it could just as easily have happened in Winnetka.

[EC]

It sounds like this is happening all over the place in Berwyn, but as Dukesdad said, it could be happening anywhere. I remember Senator Percy's daughter being murdered in their home at night and that happened in Kenilworth, in the early 70's if I remember right.

[rudemon]

The 58 year old son has been arrested.

[treeguy]

Here is son of the year award winner: