No bond for Antioch man accused of killing grandmother, setting fire

An Antioch man killed his grandmother out of fear she'd report him for stealing two checks from her purse, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Interfering with reporting a crime is one factor that could result in Jeremy Lowrey facing the death sentence in the murder of Jeanie Lowrey, 70. The 21-year-old Lowrey detailed the crime for Lake County Major Crimes Task Force investigators during a 2½-hour videotaped questioning session, assistant state's attorney Patricia Fix said, and he is now charged with first-degree murder.

Jeanie Lowrey was killed late Saturday afternoon in her home in Round Lake Beach, Fix said, but the table was set for the murder the previous day.

That's when Lowrey followed his grandmother to a car rental lot where she dropped off a car and he drove her home. Jeanie Lowrey left her purse unguarded in her grandson's car, Fix said, and he removed two blank checks from her checkbook.

Lowrey took his grandmother to dinner Saturday and they went to her home and watched the movie "Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man" on television.

Around 5 p.m., Fix said, Jeanie Lowrey asked her grandson about the missing checks, and he admitted taking them.

Jeanie Lowrey said she intended to call the police and refused her grandson's plea not to do so, Fix said.

"The defendant took a phone cord charger and wrapped it around the victim's neck, causing her to pass out," she told Associate Judge Daniel Shanes.

"He then attempted to smother her with a pillow, and she kicked him in the groin and struck him with her cane," she said.

Lowrey grabbed the cane from the woman and struck her in the head with it, Fix said, then twice hit her with a glass ashtray he found in the bedroom.

Jeanie Lowrey was staggering forward when her grandson grabbed a kitchen knife in the room and stabbed her three times, Fix said.

Jeanie Lowrey suffered wounds to her abdomen, the side of her neck and the center of her neck.

After the stabbing, Jeremy Lowrey took a can of turpentine from his grandmother's garage, poured it over her body and around the room, and set the room on fire before fleeing.

Fix said the body was "incinerated" by the blaze, which was contained to that room and apparently burned itself out.

Lake County Coroner Richard Keller said the results of an autopsy performed Tuesday afternoon did not pinpoint an exact cause of death.

"We have severe blunt trauma to the head, the stab wounds and of course the fire," Keller said. "Right now, we are concluding that the death resulted from the total effect of the injuries."

Keller said toxicology tests that could determine if Jeanie Lowrey was alive when the fire began are pending.

Later that night, Jeremy Lowrey bought an iPod at a department store with one of the stolen checks, Fix said, and shopped online Sunday with one of the grandmother's credit cards.

Jeremy Lowrey's father called Round Lake Beach police Monday and said his son told him he killed Jeanie Lowrey, and asked police to check on her, Fix said.

Police broke open the door to her home and discovered the body, and issued a radio alert for Jeremy Lowrey.

He was found washing his car at a gas station in Paddock Lake, Wis., where Fix said he had also thrown a plastic bag containing his bloody clothes and shoes into the garbage Sunday.

The garbage was collected before Lowrey's arrest, Fix said. Police are attempting to find the landfill where the garbage was taken.

The knife, cane and ashtray used in the crime were found wrapped in a towel inside Jeanie Lowrey's house, Fix said.

She told Shanes that Lowrey's relatives said he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

"We have some relatives telling us he had been off his medication, while others tell us he was acting normally." Fix said. "We anticipate it will be an issue at trial."

During the discussion of his psychological state, Lowrey blurted out, "Your honor, can I go to a mental facility?" and complained he had not been given his medication.

Shanes denied his request but ordered him to meet with a nurse. He instructed Lowrey to inform the nurse of his medication needs.

In addition to being potentially eligible for the death penalty for interfering with the reporting of a crime, Fix said charges have been filed with two other qualifiers.

She said the state can seek the death penalty because the victim was over 60 years old, and because the murder was committed in an exceptionally brutal and heinous manner.

Shanes ordered Lowrey to appear in court May 27.