Bolingbrook man charged with killing his ex-wife

A Bolingbrook man who remains on the lam has been charged with first-degree murder in the Jan. 1 shooting death of his ex-wife, authorities said Monday.

Authorities said they believe Jerry L. "Shorty" Hudson gunned down his former wife, Melissa Bridgewater, about 6:30 a.m. outside the Doubletree Hotel on Spring Road in Oak Brook.

In announcing the charges, DuPage State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said Hudson lured Bridgewater out of the hotel by calling her cell phone and telling her he was at her Bolingbrook home destroying her property.

When the woman left the hotel where she had spent the night, Hudson apparently was waiting in a rented car. As she began to back out of her parking space, he rammed her vehicle.

He then approached her car and shot her "execution style" five times through the driver's side window, authorities said.

"Domestic violence is often viewed as a spontaneous offense, not premeditated," Birkett said at a news conference. "These were planned, cold, calculated acts."

Authorities say Hudson fled and is still on the lam. The Illinois Crime Commission and DuPage Crime Stoppers are offering a combined $11,000 in reward money for information leading to his arrest and conviction.

"We are very confident the information is sufficient to allege not only responsibility but also an act of premeditation to take the life of Melissa Bridgewater," Birkett said.

Hudson is still considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call Oak Brook police at (630) 368-8701; the DuPage state's attorney's office at (630) 407-8000; the Illinois Crime Commission at (630) 778-9191; or DuPage Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

Oak Brook police say Hudson was driving a silver 2008 Hyundai Tiburon with Minnesota license plate 506CMZ when it went through a toll plaza without paying while going west onto I-88, just south of the Doubletree Hotel, shortly after the shooting.

Hudson had rented the car from Enterprise-Alamo, authorities said.

Birkett said he is confident Hudson's family will become more cooperative in helping police find the man. If they do not, he said, they also could face charges.

"Any attempt to obstruct this investigation will also be investigated and prosecuted by authorities," he said.

Earlier Monday, investigators said Hudson's family had been uncooperative, despite reports indicating they have asked Hudson to turn himself in.

"They are saying that but still not letting us know (his whereabouts)," Oak Brook police spokesman Mark Kozlowski said.

Police say Hudson made several threatening statements to Bridgewater shortly before she was killed. They said they suspect Hudson's family members may be hiding him.

Bridgewater was a guest at the Doubletree at the time of her death and was the mother of two children in their 20s. She and Hudson divorced about three years ago.