Investigators finish up at Brown's restaurant

Originally published Jan. 24, 1993

Palatine police expect to officially release the Brown's Chicken & Pasta Restaurant back to its owners in about a week, Police Chief Jerry Bratcher said Saturday.

Investigators are all but finished combing the inside of the building for clues in the murder there of the two owners and five employees two weeks ago.

"We're pretty much through with the crime scene now," Bratcher said Saturday. "We had a final walk-through with some of the officers today. We're going to seal the crime scene for a few days in the event we might want to take another look."

Neither members of the Ehlenfeldt family - owners of the restaurant - nor officials from Brown's Chicken & Pasta could be reached for comment. Although the daughters of victims Richard and Lynn Ehlenfeldt have said they would like to keep the eatery going, it is not known if and when it will reopen.

"We have no pressure from the owners or anyone to give it up," Bratcher said. "We'll hold it for at least another five or six days and then we might release it at that time."