23 years later, Peoria man charged in Lisle cold-case murder
Questions surrounding the mysterious death of a 71-year-old Lisle woman more than two decades ago soon could be answered with the arrest of a Peoria man in connection with her slaying, DuPage County authorities said Monday.
Thomas Spear, a 43-year-old pizza chef, was charged Monday with first-degree murder in the August 1994 death of Illa Venard in her second-floor condominium on Walnut Creek Lane. He is being held on $3 million bail in DuPage County jail.
Spear recently admitted to the burglary that led to Venard's death more than 20 years after a witness first came forward to identify him as a suspect, Assistant State's Attorney Kristin Johnston said during a bail hearing Monday.
Johnston told Judge George Bakalis that prosecutors can't explain why it took 20 years to charge Spear, who has had a lengthy criminal history since Venard's death.
"The defendant has had numerous contacts with law enforcement, yet nothing ever happened," Bakalis said. "Why?"
Venard, a widow who lived alone, was found dead shortly before midnight on Aug. 4, 1994, by her son, Keith, and his now ex-wife.
An autopsy conducted at the time was unable to determine her cause of death.
Johnston said Venard's decomposing body was found partially under a chair with her thumbnail broken and rings missing from her fingers. Her apartment appeared to have been ransacked. A TV Guide, open to three days earlier, sat on a nearby table.
Investigators were stymied by her death until Aug. 2, 1997, when a former neighbor of Venard's implicated Spear.
The woman told police Spear visited her and her boyfriend shortly before the slaying. Johnston said the woman told police Venard walked through the condo's pool area where the three were sitting and Spear noticed the jewelry she was wearing and asked where she lived.
A short time later, Spear again met with the woman and her boyfriend, showed them four checks taken from Venard's purse, and asked them to go with him to cash them.
Johnston said Spear, wearing a red and black scarf and sunglasses, cashed each of the checks for $300 and shared the money with the woman and her boyfriend. The three then went shopping.
Over the next 20 years, Spear was convicted of multiple burglaries and criminal trespass to vehicle charges. He also was convicted twice of driving with a suspended license and a 2015 DUI.
The confession
Prosecutors said Lisle police reopened the cold case earlier this year and tracked Spear down to Peoria, where he confessed on Sept. 28. He initially was charged with four counts of forgery and four counts of issuing or delivering a forged document in connection with the stolen checks.
Spear told police during the interview that he used a "rope and a grappling hook" to reach Venard's second-story balcony.
As he entered the sliding glass door, he told police, Venard approached him. He grabbed her by the neck and shoved her to the floor, Johnston said.
Venard became unconscious, Johnston said, and Spear attempted CPR to revive her. When that failed, Johnston said, he put the chair over her "so he didn't have to look at her."
"He said that's when his 'inner scumbag kicked in' and he figured he'd may as well rob the place and get something since he would be going to prison for a long time anyway," Johnston said.
After Spear's confession, a medical examiner reopened the file and determined the cause of death to be cardiac arrhythmia caused by being startled by an intruder. The examiner could not rule out strangulation.
"More than two decades have passed since Illa Venard was found deceased in her home," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said. "Her loved ones have waited a long time to find out what happened that horrible day."
Family's reaction
When police called him last week to announce a break in his mother's case, Keith Venard said he thought it was a prank.
"It was like, 'Is this really happening?' I literally felt like I had to pinch myself," Venard said Monday outside court. "These last 23 years have been spent wondering if this day would ever happen. I'm glad it was. I'm happy with what the judge set for bail. I'm glad that 23 years later my mother can rest in peace. She deserves it. She was a great woman. I miss her dearly."
Shock and disbelief
Marie Rehor of Chicago on Monday described her longtime friend Spear as a bit of a follower who was incapable of committing such a crime.
"I've known him for 20 years. There's no way he climbed a second-story window and did this. He's not that type of person," Rehor said after the charges were announced. "The family has asked for a psychological exam. If you tell (Spear) something is a certain way so many times, he's eventually going to believe that's the way it is.
Spear's next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 6 for arraignment in front of Bakalis. If found guilty, he faces a potential sentence of natural life without the possibility of parole.