Marengo elderly couple's murder 'random act,' sheriff says

An elderly couple were killed and their middle-aged son was injured Tuesday night during a knife attack by a neighbor in their Marengo-area home, the McHenry County sheriff said.

Sheriff's deputies were called to the 7500 block of Somerset Drive at 8:17 p.m. where the three stabbing victims were discovered, along with a fourth man who was shot to death.

According to sheriff's police, Doran W. Bloom, 27, of the 7700 block of Somerset, entered the home of John G. “Jack” Feldkamp, 83, and Audrey Feldkamp, 81, and stabbed them to death.

Bloom then repeatedly stabbed their son, Scott Feldkamp, 54, but the younger Feldkamp shot Bloom, killing him, before calling police, officials said.

Bloom, who had been staying at his parents' home on the same street, had suffered from an unspecified mental illness since his teens, police said. Bloom had been prescribed medication and police believe he was using it Tuesday, McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren said.

Scott Feldkamp, who was visiting his parents from the Fort Myers area in Florida, was taken to Sherman Hospital in Elgin for further medical treatment. He was stabbed several times in the torso, puncturing a lung, police said. He was listed in fair condition Wednesday afternoon with non-life-threatening injuries, Sherman Hospital spokeswoman Christine Priester said.

Audrey Feldkamp was taken by Flight for Life to OSF St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford where she was later pronounced dead, officials said. Bloom and Jack Feldkamp were declared dead at the scene.

Nygren said the attack was clearly random. He added that investigators had not determined exactly how Bloom got into the home but said there were no signs of forced entry.

An access door to the garage and another connecting the garage to the home were not locked, Nygren said.

“This is very upsetting to any neighborhood, but we want them to know that their safety is not in jeopardy from this man,” Nygren said.

He said the investigation was continuing.

“I know it doesn't make any sense to people that someone would enter a home without any particular motive and try to kill everybody in the house,” Nygren said.

Nygren said Bloom had used a folding knife with a four-inch blade during the attack. The knife was found near his body.

The sheriff said Bloom had been staying at his parents' home about a quarter-mile from the Feldkamps' home on a quiet street that abuts the Coral Woods Conservation area southeast of Marengo.

Neighbors there on Wednesday said residents on Somerset Drive often get together for holidays or dinner parties.

“This is a quiet little neighborhood,” said Spencer Prahl, who has lived in the area for about 10 years. “That's what makes this hard because we're friends with the Feldkamps and we are familiar with the parents (of Bloom). We would see each other at neighborhood parties. They are nice people.”

Prahl, who was visibly shaken Wednesday as he worked in his yard, said the attack is crushing for all parties involved.

“They were old and we are all born to die,” Prahl said. “But to see or know that they met their end so tragically is really tough. That shouldn't have happened to them. And it is devastating for the Blooms for them to lose their son this way.”

Bloom, who previously lived in an apartment in Woodstock, had been at his parents' home for about 10 days. Nygren said the sheriff's department had no previous contact with Bloom, but said Woodstock police previously arrested Bloom for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Autopsies are scheduled for later this week, Nygren said.