Suspect charged in September killing of 74-year-old Waukegan woman

A Waukegan man faces a first-degree murder charge stemming from the killing of a 74-year-old Waukegan woman in her home in September, Lake County authorities announced Wednesday.

Chad B. Jones, 41, of the 2500 block of Garrick Avenue in Waukegan, was ordered held in the Lake County jail on $2 million bail Wednesday.

The charge came after a more than three-month investigation that began Sept. 15, when family members found Marlyn Cook dead in her home on the 2700 block of Evergreen Road.

On Dec. 23, Waukegan police and investigators from the Lake County state's attorney's office learned that DNA evidence placed Jones in contact with Cook, according to the prosecutors' office. Jones, who already was facing burglary after DNA placed him in Cook's home, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder, authorities said.

Jones is due in court Jan. 29 for a preliminary hearing.