Mystery remains in death of St. Charles man

For five days, relatives waited for John Hultgren to wake up in his hospital bed and tell them how he got there. He didn't.

Now, Hultgren's family and St. Charles police hope the public can answer questions the 54-year-old -- who died Sunday after a mysterious chain of events -- wasn't able to answer himself.

"There are pretty much only two options" to explain the death, Hultgren's sister Holly Hultgren said Wednesday. "Which one of them it is, we don't know."

A 911 call first led police to Hultgren about 10:11 p.m. July 24 on the 500 block of West State Street. The St. Charles man was lying face up and unconscious in the middle of the road.

In his possession, Hultgren had a bag containing cigarettes, a six-pack of beer and an unopened 40-ounce can of beer, police said. He also had a wallet in the back pocket of his jeans and cash in his pocket, relatives said.

After being rushed to Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva, Hultgren regained consciousness long enough to say he had visited several taverns that night. He then lost consciousness again and remained in that state until he died Sunday.

An autopsy the next day uncovered a small injury on the top of Hultgren's head, which was "not consistent with being hit by a car or falling," said Kane County Coroner Chuck West.

On Wednesday, police issued a statement asking anyone who saw Hultgren on July 24 to call detectives at (630) 443-3729. Officials declined to classify the investigation as being suspicious or possibly a homicide.

"We're trying to backtrack his (Hultgren's) activities that day and trying to find some people that saw him and may have witnessed the incident," said police spokesman Paul McCurtain.

Relatives say Hultgren might have been either hurt in a fall while walking home or possibly attacked.

It wasn't uncommon for Hultgren, who did not own a car, to walk home from visiting friends or hanging out at the St. Charles Veterans of Foreign Wars post, where had been earlier on July 29, his sister said.

A 1972 graduate of Geneva High School, Hultgren was a corrections officer for 25 years at the now-closed Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles Township, relatives said. Police identified Hultgren as 55 years old, but family said he was 54.

He retired in 2002 and later rented an apartment on the 1000 block of Dean Street in St. Charles. He was divorced and had no children.

Hultgren enjoyed visiting with neighbors in a patio area behind the apartment, relatives said Wednesday as they packed up his belongings.

"He was kind of a homebody," Holly Hultgren said. "Everybody says he was a good guy -- every single person you talk to."

"We just want to find out what happened," she added. "Right now, we don't know what to think."