Ex kills girlfriend's daughter, holds mom hostage

A Palatine man ambushed and killed a Mundelein woman in her home and then held her mother hostage for several hours before taking his own life early Wednesday, police said.

Gennadiy Plaksa, 44, committed the bloody crime because the victim's mother — his former girlfriend — had broken up with him last year, Mundelein Police Chief Raymond J. Rose said.

The victim, 22-year-old Alina S. Rybnikova, was found stabbed and beaten in the garage of her duplex on the 1300 block of Newport Street, on Mundelein's south side.

“It's a tragedy,” Rose said.

Rybnikova's 45-year-old mother was hurt and was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where she was listed in good condition. Authorities did not release her name because they were trying to reach relatives.

Plaksa, of the 700 block of East Rand Grove Lane, was found dead in a sedan parked on the street a few houses from the duplex. He shot himself in the head with a semiautomatic pistol, Rose said.

The ordeal began Tuesday night after Rybnikova returned home from work, Rose said during a news conference in the Lakewood Village subdivision. Plaksa surprised her in the house and fought with her in the foyer, Rose said.

At some point, Plaksa dragged Rybnikova into the garage, where he repeatedly stabbed and beat her, police said. Several bloody knives and a wooden baseball bat wrapped in duct tape were found at the scene, Rose said.

Rybnikova suffered stab wounds to her torso and had defensive stab wounds on her hands. Wounds from the baseball bat also were apparent, police said.

After attacking Rybnikova and moving her to the garage, Plaksa tried to clean up the foyer, police said.

Rybnikova's mother, a Wisconsin resident, arrived at the duplex about 9 p.m., police said. She had been at dinner previously, police said.

The mother entered the house through the front door and was attacked by Plaksa, Deputy Police Chief John Monahan said. She didn't learn her daughter was fatally wounded in the garage until much later.

Plaksa handcuffed the mother, bound her with duct tape, beat her and kept her captive on the first floor of the house, police said.

Plaksa and the victim's mother had dated for about two years, Rose said. Their relationship began deteriorating in May 2011, and she broke it off in the fall after she returned from a trip to her native Russia, Rose said.

About 1 a.m., the mother persuaded Plaksa to free her. He did and prepared to leave the duplex, police said.

The mother called Rybnikova's roommate at work and asked her to come home, saying she wasn't feeling well, Monahan said.

As Plaksa was leaving, he saw the mother and Rybnikova's roommate — who had come home and called 911 — running from the garage where they had discovered Rybnikova's body, Rose said.

Plaksa then went to his car and killed himself, as officers arrived at the house or moments before, Monahan said. An officer saw smoke from the discharged gun in the car, Monahan said.

The roommate called 911 at 1:37 a.m., and the first officer arrived at the scene at 1:40 a.m., Monahan said.

Mundelein police and the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force are investigating.

Police have spoken with the victim's mother. “She is very distraught,” Monahan said.

Mundelein police had no reports of domestic violence involving Plaksa or the women.

An autopsy performed Wednesday afternoon revealed Rybnikova died of two stab wounds to the chest that penetrated her heart, Lake County Coroner Artis Yancey said.

The autopsy also found Rybnikova suffered other stab wounds to the chest and torso, and it showed the back of her skull was beaten, Yancey said.

An autopsy will be conducted on Plaksa on Thursday morning.

Hours after the crime Wednesday morning, Rybnikova's duplex and several others on her block remained cordoned off with yellow police tape.

Neighbors gathered on a nearby corner to watch the police activity.

One man, who asked to remain anonymous, said Rybnikova lived on Newport Street about a year. The gunshot woke him, he said.

“By the time I looked out the window, there were already police here,” the neighbor said.

Fellow Lakewood Village resident Dana Gordon called the crime “extremely shocking.”

The crime was Mundelein's first murder since a 2009 gang-related firebombing left a 12-year-old boy dead.

After the news conference, Rose told the Daily Herald the crime on Newport Street reminded him of a notorious murder scene from his past: the 1976 killing of three members of the Columbo family in Elk Grove Village.

Nineteen-year-old Patricia Columbo and boyfriend Frank DeLuca were convicted of the crimes, and both remain imprisoned. Rose was the lead investigator.

The way Plaksa surprised his victims and attempted to clean up the crime scene brought the Columbo killings to Rose's mind.

“There were some similarities,” Rose said.