Waukegan man accused in deaths of wife, daughter left note

A 53-year-old Waukegan man who in an apparent suicide note wrote that he was a failure was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife and disabled daughter.

Anthony Marcus was held in the Lake County jail on $5 million bail in connection with the Sunday night deaths in a townhouse on the 4100 block of Continental Drive on the northwest side of the city.

Waukegan police said Marcus' wife, Sun, 50, and his daughter, Samantha, 17, were strangled, but officials declined to discuss details of what happened or why.

"The facts of the case and the totality of the circumstances have to be left up to the courts," Waukegan Police Cmdr. Joe Florip said.

Waukegan police went to the townhouse about 6:15 p.m. after a male caller told the emergency operator he had killed his family and slit his own wrists, according to a Lake County state's attorney's office news release.

A note was found under the front door and was read in bond court Monday morning. It stated: "For Michelle, I'm sorry. Your dad is a failure at everying (sic)," according to the release.

The state's attorney's office declined to confirm or deny who Michelle is, and Waukegan police had no comment on any members of the Marcus family.

The bodies of Marcus' wife and daughter were found in the basement of the home, authorities said.

"It's devastating for the community. It's devastating for the neighborhood. It's devastating for the family," Florip said.

Samantha Marcus had disabilities and used a wheelchair, according to Waukegan police. The family dog also was found dead, police said, but there was no information on what happened.

Anthony Marcus and the victims lived in the townhouse, police said, but Florip did not know how long they had been there. He said police hadn't been called to the Marcus home.

Marcus was taken to Vista East Hospital with self-inflicted injuries and early Monday was released to the Waukegan Police Department's criminal investigations division, police said.

A preliminary hearing is set for July 2.

A neighbor, Roy Miller, told the Daily Herald he saw the family in the commons area of the townhouse development a few days ago.

"They were just nice, pleasant, always good people," Miller said Monday.

He said Anthony Marcus was "always helpful, willing to help people out."