As family of Mundelein woman fatally shot by police calls for action, prosecutors weighing charges
As the grieving family of a Mundelein woman fatally shot by police nearly five months ago pushes for action against the officers involved, Lake County prosecutors haven’t yet decided if anyone will face criminal charges.
State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart and top supervisors are carefully reviewing the now-completed investigation by the Lake County Major Crime Task Force into the May 11 death of 37-year-old Mary Alice Love, spokesperson Sara Avalos said. While prosecutors have shared an approximate timeline with the Love family and Mundelein officials, they haven’t made it public.
Rinehart’s office has communicated with Love’s family throughout this stage of the case and has kept them informed of its progress.
“We recognize the importance of this case to her loved ones and to the broader community,” Avalos said.
The wait for resolution has been stressful for the Loves, said Kevin O’Connor, an attorney for the family. “But they want the state’s attorney to get it right,” he said.
‘I don’t want them to shoot her’
Love was killed May 11 at the family’s home on Ashbrook Drive. Love’s mother, Jeffry, had called 911 shortly before 6 p.m. because Love was experiencing a mental health crisis.
“My daughter asked me to call the police so they can kill her,” Jeffry Love can be heard telling an emergency dispatcher in a recording released by police. “She’s bipolar and she just said she don’t want to live anymore.”
After being told rescue personnel and police were coming, Jeffry Love told the dispatcher, “I don’t want them to shoot her.”
When police arrived, Mary Alice Love was outside on a rear patio and armed with two knives. Body-worn camera video released by the police department shows Love being shot after opening a rear sliding-glass door leading to where her mother and some officers had gathered. Her mother can be heard yelling, “No! No! No!” after the gunshots.
A veteran patrol sergeant fired the fatal shots, authorities have said. Neither police nor village officials have confirmed his name, and he hasn’t been identified by the Daily Herald.
The shooting was the third officer-involved fatality in Lake County this year and the 13th since 2020, according to prosecutors.
Of those 13 cases, one resulted in criminal charges. Former Waukegan police officer Dante Salinas was charged in 2022 with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter following the 2020 shooting of Marcellis Stinnette.
The case against Salinas, who was fired shortly after the shooting, is pending.
The aftermath
The sergeant who killed Love has been on paid administrative leave since May. That’s been a source of contention for the Love family and their supporters, who have demanded he be fired and charged. They’ve also called for other officers to be disciplined.
During public demonstrations and protests at village board meetings — most recently last week’s session — Love’s relatives and their allies have alleged she was shot rather than subdued more peacefully using de-escalation techniques because she was Black.
At the latest board meeting, another of the Loves’ attorneys, Jeff Naffziger, urged officials to release all the body-worn camera videos of the deadly encounter and not merely the edited compilation dispensed a month after Love’s death. The Loves and others have made that request for months with no success.
“There’s no reason not to turn it all over,” Naffziger said. “Why doesn’t the family have this?”
Village leaders largely have been publicly silent about the case.
Citing the ongoing criminal investigation and an internal inquiry into whether departmental rules, policies or procedures were violated, Police Chief Tom Poynor and Mayor Robin Meier declined to answer specific questions about the allegations of racism and perceived inactivity at village hall. Poynor and Meier instead released a joint statement in which they said the police department is cooperating with prosecutors.
“This is a difficult situation for all those involved,” the statement reads. “We have done our best to be as transparent as possible while also respecting the investigative process.”
Where it stands
The case was turned over to prosecutors in August, shortly after an inquest jury formed by the Lake County coroner’s office determined Love’s death was a homicide — a finding that, under Illinois law, means someone else caused her demise. Such a ruling is independent of whether prosecutors believe a death was lawful or not.
Rinehart’s team will decide if charges are filed in the Love case, Avalos said.
O’Connor said he expects prosecutors will conclude their investigation within the next three weeks.
Neither Jeffry nor Johnny Love could be reached for this story. But in an email to the Daily Herald this summer, Jeffry Love called for accountability.
“My precious Mary Alice deserved so much more than this,” she wrote, “and she unequivocally deserves justice.”
rlissau@dailyherald.com
Deadly encounters
Police have fatally shot 13 people in Lake County since 2020. Here’s a breakdown.
2026: 3
2025: 1
2024: 0
2023: 4
2022: 3
2021: 0
2020: 2
Source: Lake County state’s attorney’s office