Chiropractor warned police of murder plot

A Palatine chiropractor told police two months ago that his friend, Steven Zirko, was looking for someone to kill his ex- girlfriend.

The 40-year-old Zirko, according to prosecutors, was growing increasingly upset over losing his car to his ex-girlfriend and not being able to see the two young children the couple had together.

Palatine police launched an investigation, but it wasn't enough to prevent this week's death of 38-year-old Mary Lacey of Glenview, and that of her 60-year-old mother, Margaret Ballog.

Both women were found dead in Lacey's Glenview home late Monday morning. Lacey was stabbed at least 40 times, with her left breast mutilated, and was shot twice, prosecutors said. Ballog died from three gunshot wounds, according to prosecutors.

Zirko, of Chicago, was picked up for questioning late Monday, and was charged by late Thursday with solicitation of murder, a felony punishable by 15 to 30 years in prison.

On Friday morning, a handcuffed Zirko appeared before a Cook County Circuit Court judge in Skokie for a bond hearing.

So far, Zirko isn't charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Lacey and Ballog, but a Cook County prosecutor said in court that Zirko is the prime suspect.

Assistant State's Attorney Rich Cenar urged Judge William T. O'Brien to order Zirko held without bond.

Cenar said Zirko is a flight risk because he has been arrested in the past with various aliases and has access to large amounts of cash.

O'Brien complied with the request and ordered Zirko held without bail on the solicitation charges. He also set bail at $10 million against Zirko for violating the terms of his conditional discharge stemming from a 2003 domestic battery case.

Wearing a gray sweatshirt and gray sweatpants, Zirko was escorted into the courtroom but didn't speak. But his attorney, Patrick G. Reardon of Chicago, took shots at the evidence collected by the state so far.

"I don't think the presumption is great that there's evidence of guilt here in this case," Reardon said. "He's charged with soliciting someone else to commit murder. I saw no evidence of that."

Cenar detailed in court the troubled relationship between Zirko and Lacey dating back to 2000 while the unmarried couple lived in Florida.

In July 25, 2003, Lacey, who by then was living in the Chicago area, sought an order of protection against Zirko after he threatened to beat her face, authorities said.

In early December 2003, he plead guilty to a domestic battery charge. A week before pleading guilty, another incident arose in which he sideswiped Lacey's car and threatened to kill her. Lacey's children were in the car with her, Cenar said. Lacey sought another order of protection after that incident. Zilko was arrested in connection to that incident.

Early this year, Cenar said Zirko approached the chiropractor to find someone to first break Lacey's leg, with the request later turning into wanting Lacey killed.

The chiropractor told Zirko that he didn't want to help him with the killing, Cenar said.

But Zirko allegedly told the chiropractor that he would carry the killing out himself with help from his father, Cenar said.

Zirko asked for the chiropractor to swipe his credit card every Friday afternoon so it looked as if he'd been there, Cenar said.

By October, the chiropractor contacted Palatine police to tell them about the alleged murderous request, Cenar said.

State's attorney spokesman John Gorman declined to comment as to why charges where not filed against Zirko when the chiropractor first approached police.

Palatine police spokesman Michael Seebacher said he could not comment on another agency's ongoing homicide investigation.

Meanwhile, DNA evidence collected from the scene is being analyzed, with the death investigation still ongoing, Cenar said.

Zirko will be held at the Cook County jail in Chicago. His next court date is Dec. 28 for a preliminary hearing.

Steven Zirko