Body pulled from lake may be Villa Park cabbie wanted in killings

A body pulled from Lake Michigan is believed to be the Villa Park cabdriver who became the focus of a nationwide manhunt after his parents were found fatally shot.

Authorities still are awaiting confirmation, but law enforcement officials said Wednesday the body appears to be that of Artur Shehu.

A jogger spotted the male corpse about 8 p.m. Tuesday floating near the Montrose Harbor. An autopsy showed the man suffered a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Shehu, 33, had been missing since his parents were found slain early Jan. 7 in their Villa Park home. The FBI joined the search while suspecting he may have faked suicide to throw off the police probe and avoid prosecution.

The Albanian national was a legal resident who spoke fluent English and Albanian. He had relatives in Canada and strong ties to the Albanian community in Chicago.

"We knew he was mentally ill," DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said. "But we had to assume he might have fled until we had confirmation otherwise."

Birkett said he hopes today to confirm the corpse's identity, but he said preliminary information based on the physical description and identifying marks on the body point to Shehu.

At 3:40 a.m. Jan. 7, Shehu called 911 from a pay phone near the home he shared with his parents at 46 West Ridge in Villa Park and said "the devil with the big head was going to get him," according to a federal affidavit. It said Shehu told police he planned to kill himself.

Police found a back door open. Shehu was not there. Instead, officers found his slain parents. Birkett charged Shehu with murdering his father, Syrja, 66, and his 67-year-old mother, Safo, both shot in the head.

Police discovered a note in which the son admitted killing his parents, the affidavit said. The document also said Shehu planned to kill himself elsewhere and hoped his burned body would never be recovered. If so, he requested that his remains be scattered into a lake or river.

Later that day, police found Shehu's abandoned taxicab along Addison Street and Lake Shore Drive, near Chicago's lakefront. Inside the taxi, authorities said, they found Shehu's driver's license and another note in which he again admits killing his parents. Authorities also have Shehu's passport.

Authorities said repeated lake searches failed to yield his body. Tips on possible sightings were fruitless. Police said it appeared the body was in the water for at least several days.