Murderer accused of trying to dig out of cell

Perhaps Edward Tenney felt he had nothing to lose.

Authorities allege the twice-convicted killer plotted an escape last month from DuPage County jail while awaiting trial for a third murder in a death-penalty case.

Few details have been made public, but according to court documents, prosecutors charged Tenney with criminal damage to state-supported property after deputies discovered a significant hole in his cell wall.

Deputies made the discovery Dec. 26 and moved Tenney into a section of the Wheaton facility reserved for inmates with disciplinary issues.

It's unclear what type of tool Tenney used to carve out part of his cell wall, but officials said each inmate was checked for weapons and contraband afterward as a safety precaution.

DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said he is reviewing the security incident before deciding whether other charges will be filed, such as attempted escape.

Tenney, 48, formerly of Aurora, is accused of killing Jerry D. Weber, a 24-year-old father of two, in April 1992 during a robbery after his van broke down in a muddy field in DuPage County east of Aurora.

Tenney's attorney, John Houlihan, said the long-anticipated DuPage County trial is likely to begin later this year. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty if they glean a conviction. Houlihan said he was unaware of the jail escape allegation.

Tenney is serving two life prison terms for the infamous 1993 slayings of dairy heiress Mary Jill Oberweis, 56, and her neighbor, Virginia Johannessen, 75, near Aurora, in Kane County. The women were killed months apart in separate robberies.

Tenney once faced death by lethal injection for the Johannessen murder. His conviction, though, was overturned in 2002 based on a legal error at trial. He was retried, convicted again and, on Thursday, sentenced to a life prison term.

Escape attempts

Only one inmate has made a serious escape attempt from the DuPage County jail, which opened Jan. 1, 1984, near County Farm and Manchester roads in Wheaton and later was expanded.

In 1986, the inmate hid in a tub of filthy laundry being shipped out for cleaning. He didn't get far. Deputies noticed the lid wobbling. The inmate became overwhelmed by the stench of dirty laundry and lack of fresh air.

Other inmates planned escapes, but deputies again were able to intervene. Most recently, a man awaiting trial in a violent Glendale Heights home invasion tried to pass an eight-page letter to his wife last year in court -- through his unsuspecting attorney -- in which he penned a plan to cut his foot, then escape at the hospital.

And, facing a life in prison, an inmate convicted of killing a disabled Naperville woman plotted his violent escape in March 2000. Deputies again were able to foil the scheme before it was enacted.

More serious breakout plans were carried out in the old jail in downtown Wheaton. In 1981, an inmate removed an air-conditioner in the old jail's recreation room and scurried down the outer wall.

Unbeknownst to him, the office directly below housed the sheriff's detective unit. Detectives soon spotted the inmate hanging in broad daylight from a rope he had concocted with knotted bed sheets. He made it about 10 feet into the parking lot before he was apprehended.

There were two other escapes in the old jail. One man was captured three blocks away; the other inmate was on the lam for five years before being nabbed.

Other jail troubles

The county's budget crisis has created staffing shortages across the judicial system, including the at-capacity jail.

Though escape plans have been foiled, sheriff's officials also have been dealing with recent high-profile suicides and attempts.

Most recently, 26-year-old Robert Rejda was found dead in his jail cell on Dec. 14 while awaiting trial for the Christmas Day 2006 murder of a neighbor, Lauren Kiefer, 24, near Oakbrook Terrace.

Authorities are awaiting toxicology results before declaring an official cause of death, but they suspect Rejda hoarded his medication and intentionally overdosed.

Last March, 24-year-old Jae Harrell of Willowbrook killed himself in his cell. He was accused of fatally beating his mother with a hammer, then leaving her body in her abandoned car along the Eisenhower Expressway.

Also, in June 2006, Neil J. Lofquist survived but suffered a cracked skull and spinal injury after he climbed a weight machine and intentionally plunged headfirst onto the jail's hard floor. Lofquist is accused of killing his 8-year-old daughter, Lauren, in March 2006.

As for Edward Tenney, he is due in court again Jan. 16, before DuPage Circuit Judge Robert Anderson.