Motives unclear in deaths of Roselle family

Young Joe Fontana was a bowling prodigy.

He'd grab a 12-pound ball, roll it down the lane with both hands and proclaim that he was imparting a little "hook" to his shot. That technique allowed the 7-year-old to routinely break 100; once he bowled 140.

Joe's father, Mike, was the owner of Strategic Machinery in Schaumburg. His three grown sons - Nick, Frank and Mitch - worked there, too.

Mike was a "hard-working, positive kind of guy - a cheerleader," said his sister-in-law, Sue Gibbons of Schaumburg. "He was a high-energy, funny, intense guy."

More Coverage Links Roselle shooting victims include 7-year-old boy [05/28/08]

Joe was the only child of Mike and Becky Fontana and the "light of their world," Gibbons said. Mike's three older boys from an earlier marriage were dark-haired, befitting their Italian heritage. But Joe inherited his mother's blonde hair.

In short, Gibbons said, "They were a family who loved each other very much."

In spite of that, something snapped in Mike Fontana.

Joe and Becky Fontana were found shot to death Wednesday inside their Roselle house at 746 N. Woodfield Trail. Mike's body was found near that of his son. He, too, was shot to death with the .357-caliber revolver lying nearby.

The Cook County medical examiner's office Thursday determined that Becky, 47, had been shot three times and Joe four times at point-blank range. Mike, 60, had a single, self-inflicted gunshot wound to the mouth.

Authorities said Mike did not leave behind a note offering a motive.

Roselle Police Chief James Kruger said authorities are looking into whether Mike Fontana might have been experiencing financial stresses, marital strife or health problems that could have motivated the shooting.

"We're trying to formulate a rationale around an irrational act," Kruger said.

So far, public records offer no indication of trouble in the family, either. According to court records in Cook and DuPage counties, there had been no divorce or protection-order filings between the couple, and neither Mike nor Becky Fontana had any criminal history or known civil lawsuits against them. Roselle police had never responded to the home for a domestic disturbance.

Fontana also had a valid firearm owner's identification card, but investigators are looking into the history of his firearm purchases, Kruger said. They're checking in particular into whether the .38 Special ammunition used in the shootings was a recent purchase.

To Gibbons, though, what might have pushed Mike Fontana over the edge doesn't matter. At least for now, she isn't trying to piece together what might have gone wrong. The family had some "personal issues" that she did not wish to divulge.

And even though Mike murdered her sister, Gibbons said it "doesn't mean he didn't love his family."

"This doesn't define his character. This doesn't define him," she said. "This is just crazy."

Chris Martelli, principal of Nerge Elementary School, which Joe attended just a block away from his home, said there was nothing unusual about the family or the days leading up to Wednesday's tragic discovery.

In fact, he described Mike as "an extremely nice guy," who invariably walked his son to school every day.

Joe left school in the usual manner Tuesday afternoon, and the first indication there was anything wrong came Wednesday when he failed to show up for school with no phone call from home, Martelli said. Calls to the home went unanswered Wednesday morning.

Counselors were on hand Thursday to help students at the school - in Joe's first-grade class, in particular - cope with news of the tragedy. The counselors will remain available through the end of the school year on Tuesday, Martelli said.

Gibbons said the surviving family members will grieve their loss every day of their lives, but she is particularly worried about her mother, Dolores Oberg, who found her daughter's body and summoned police.

Oberg, a former Daily Herald employee, was close to her daughter, of course, but Joe was the apple of her eye, Gibbons said. Every Friday was a "Joe Friday," in which she and her grandson got together.

Becky Fontana met Mike at Machinery Systems in Schaumburg. Later Becky went to work as an accountant at Oce-USA in Chicago. She was a hard-working, motivated woman who "passed her CPA on the first try," Gibbons said.

Becky had an artistic side, too. She was into scrapbooking, calligraphy and origami; in fact, Becky fashioned a rose from five 10-dollar bills to celebrate Gibbons' 50th birthday not long ago.

"She was very giving, a generous-hearted person," Gibbons said.

And Joe was the light of their lives, she said.

In addition to his bowling prowess, he loved karate and put up with piano lessons.

Gibbons would prefer that the world not try to posthumously psychoanalyze what might have prompted Mike to kill the family he loved so much.

"It doesn't matter," she said. "I don't even want to know."

bull; Daily Herald staff writers Eric Peterson and Kimberly Pohl contributed to this report.