Wood Dale police believe stabbing deaths are murder-suicide

Wood Dale police are calling the stabbing deaths of a 74-year-old woman and her 48-year-old son Monday a murder-suicide.

Police responded to the area of Addison Road and Charmille Lane at about 2 p.m. for a report of a unresponsive person and found Angela Defrenza dead of apparent stab wounds in the front yard of a single-family home on the 100 block of South Addison Road. Police said a neighbor notified authorities.

When officers entered the house, they discovered the body of her son, Domenico Defrenza, who also suffered a stab wound.

Police officials did not say which of the pair they believe is responsible for the stabbings.

The case remains under investigation. The DuPage County Metropolitan Emergency Response and Investigation Team, the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office and the DuPage County coroner’s office are assisting the Wood Dale Police Department.

Autopsies of the Defrenzas are scheduled for today, police said. More details are expected to be released following those exams.

Wood Dale police last investigated a murder in May of 2021. In that case, Joshua R. Castellano ultimately pleaded guilty in 2024 to second degree murder of his father, Robert. The son stabbed the father in the chest with a sword, authorities said at the time.

Joshua Castellano, a former champion wrestler and Olympic hopeful, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and is currently locked up at the Western Illinois Correctional Center near Mount Sterling. He is eligible for parole in 2033, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records.