Murdered Elk Grove mother led ‘tortured life,’ prosecutors say
Cook County prosecutors say Marilyn Wood lived “a difficult and tortured life,” and they pointed the finger at her youngest son Thursday as the man responsible.
The trial of Jonathan Wood — charged with the 2008 murder of his mother in Elk Grove Village — began Thursday with prosecutors laying out what they called the “strained relationship between mother and son” and the defense attorney insisting that no evidence ties Wood to the crime.
Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Steve Rosenblum said Marilyn Wood twice took out orders of protection against her son. But, blinded by motherly affection, she welcomed him back into her home. She obtained the last protection order about a month before police found her bruised body — gagged, with her hands tied with electrical cords and speaker wire, and her neck and arm fractured — beneath clothes, carpets and suitcases in her home’s basement storage room.
“The man responsible for all that sits in the courtroom,” said Rosenblum during his opening statement before Cook County Judge Bridget Hughes.
“In the end there is a mountain of evidence and it all points to one man … Jonathan Wood,” Rosenblum said.
Cook County Assistant Public Defender Jim Mullenix refuted prosecutors’ claims, insisting no direct evidence connects Jonathan Wood to the murder. No one saw Wood enter or leave the residence around the time of the murder, said Mullenix, and physical evidence found at the scene can be attributed to Wood living at the home most of his life.
Additionally, said Mullenix, Jonathan Wood has been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and schizophrenia four times between 1997 and his arrest in 2008 and multiple times after that. Last year, a psychiatrist found Wood fit to stand trial so long as he takes his medication.
Testimony began with Andrea Dittman, Wood’s colleague at Schaumburg’s Healthcare Financial Resources. Dittman described Wood, a 70-year-old customer service representative, as elegant, attentive and prompt.
“We could always count on Marilyn,” Dittman said. That’s why co-workers became concerned when she did not arrive by 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2008. After several calls to Marilyn Wood’s home, colleagues called police to request a well-being check.
Former Elk Grove Village police officer Wesley Gustafson testified he went to Wood’s home and found the garage door unlocked, with Wood’s car inside. The door leading from the garage to the house was unlocked as well, he said. Gustafson said he used his flashlight to check the “pitch black” basement storage room which he was unable to fully enter because it was crowded with furniture.
When Marilyn Wood failed to show up for work the next day, co-workers again called police. Officer Joe Sacomano, who had been to the home several times for domestic situations, said police arrived at 9:24 a.m. and found the doors locked and the car gone. Shortly after, they discovered Marilyn Wood’s body.
Dittman testified the office received a handwritten fax about 9:53 a.m. indicating Marilyn was in Minnesota for a funeral. The handwriting and signature did not match Marilyn Wood’s, said Dittman.
Arlington Heights insurance agent Claudia Sanchez testified a man came into her office on Oct. 31 and asked to use the fax machine. She identified the man as Jonathan Wood.
Wood was apprehended that night in Glencoe following a car chase that at times reached a speed of 125 miles per hour, Elk Grove Village police officer David Klingsporn said.
Testimony resumes Friday. Mullenix indicated his client may testify in his own defense.