Hinsdale police investigating mother's death as a homicide
Hinsdale police are investigating the killing of a 50-year-old woman whose body was found Thursday afternoon in a house on the west side of town near the Metra station.
The victim was identified as Andrea Urban of Hinsdale. Officers who responded to a family member's 911 call found Urban dead when they arrived after 3:37 p.m., police said in a news release.
"Investigators will be working through the night and as long as it takes to bring this investigation to a conclusion," Hinsdale police Chief Kevin Simpson said during a news conference.
Police say the community is not at risk.
"There's nothing at this point in this investigation that leads us to think that this was a random act," Simpson said.
Police said Urban had two children, both minors who lived with her, ABC 7 Chicago reported. Urban was a single mother who grew up in Hinsdale and returned to her hometown in 2008, according to a profile of her written last year in the weekly newspaper The Hinsdalean.
She graduated from Hinsdale Central High School in 1984 and became an actor in New York City before returning home to the town where her parents and brother still live and landing small roles in TV shows such as "Chicago P.D." and "Chicago Fire. She also was battling chronic myeloid leukemia and had been using a cannabis-derived oil as a treatment, The Hinsdalean reported.
The early police investigation into Urban's death had streets blocked off in the area of Town Place and Quincy Street, near the West Hinsdale Metra station.
Police are working with the DuPage County state's attorney's office and the felony investigative assistance team of the county's major crimes unit as they probe the cause of her death.
State's attorney's spokesman Paul Darrah confirmed the office is "aware of the situation" and "working with the Hinsdale Police Department on this death investigation."
Anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area or has information about Urban's death is asked to call police at (630) 789-7070.
Hinsdale Central High School Principal William C. Walsh sent an email to parents Thursday evening informing them of the ongoing police investigation into the death of Urban, a parent at the school.
The email encouraged parents to talk openly with their children about Urban's death and to watch their behavior for signs they may need additional support, such as angry or aggressive behavior, questions about death, changes in sleeping or eating habits, inability to focus, lethargy, withdrawal, moodiness, sadness or depression.
Hinsdale Central will have counselors available for students through its social work and counseling departments.
• Daily Herald staff writer Justin Kmitch contributed to this report.