Lake Co. murder suspect denies soliciting witness hits

A man accused of killing his wife outside a Lincolnshire hotel denied Thursday trying to arrange for violence against some witnesses in the case.

Clarence Weber, 58, pleaded not guilty to solicitation of murder for hire and solicitation of aggravated battery during a hearing before Associate Judge Theodore Potkonjak.

Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Bolling Haxall said Weber, formerly of Waukegan, is charged with first-degree murder in the July 5 stabbing death of his wife, Adelina.

Held without bond since his July 8 arrest in Indiana, Weber is accused of asking a fellow jail inmate to find someone to kill two witnesses in the case. A third person was to be beaten severely, Haxall said, declining to identify any of the intended targets.

The inmate told authorities of Weber's intentions, Haxall said, and secretly tape-recorded Weber making the threats.

Potkonjak told Weber he faces 20 to 60 years in prison if convicted of solicitation of murder, and up to seven years if found guilty of solicitation of aggravated battery.

Adelina Weber, 31, was killed as she sat in her car and talked with her husband in the parking lot of SpringHill Suites, 300 N. Marriott Drive.

The killing came just days after he had been served divorce papers and just two months after a suspicious fire destroyed the couple's Waukegan house shortly after she moved out.

Weber is eligible for the death penalty because his wife had an active order of protection against him at the time of her death, but prosecutors have not announced what penalty they will seek in the murder case.

Police said Weber fled the state after his wife was killed, and he was captured three days later near LaPorte, Ind. after a massive police manhunt.

Potkonjak scheduled a trial of the case for Feb. 6, and ordered Weber to appear in court Dec. 17.