Man accused of Christmas Day murder found dead in jail

A man accused of killing his former childhood classmate during a Christmas Day break-in near Oakbrook Terrace was found dead Friday in the DuPage County jail.

Authorities are investigating the apparent suicide of Robert Rejda, 26, who was found alone in his cell. Foul play is not suspected. An autopsy is planned today.

Earlier this week, DuPage County Public Defender Robert Miller asked a judge to have Rejda's mental fitness evaluated after the defendant persisted with demands to be executed without a trial.

Miller said he received a voice-mail message Wednesday or Thursday from Rejda in which he thanked the attorney for supplying him with some legal documents. Rejda told his attorney he'd be sending him a letter requesting other specific materials. Deputies told Miller they found a letter addressed to him in the cell, but it hadn't been opened yet.

Earlier coverage Stories Man accused of Christmas murder in DuPage Co. wants death penalty [12/12/07] Judge bars man's earlier rape arrest in murder case [11/29/07] Second sex assault charge may be part of Christmas slaying trial [11/14/07]

"He never mentioned the word 'suicide' to me," said Miller, despite his client's interest in the death penalty. "I don't think Bob Rejda was saying, 'I want to die.' He just believed a sentence of death was better than living his life in a cage."

Besides the slaying, Rejda also was charged with raping an Aurora woman 15 months earlier. She survived.

DuPage State's Attorney Joe Birkett said if Rejda did kill himself, he deprived the Aurora woman and the Kiefer family the satisfaction of hearing him plead guilty.

"I'm saddened by the loss of a life and that both families were deprived of their day in court and to hear that word 'guilty,' " Birkett said.

If the death is ruled suicide, it marks the third recent incident in which a DuPage County inmate facing murder charges tried to take his life.

In 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.

It was not clear Friday if Rejda was on a suicide watch. Miller said Rejda was taking some sort of medication, but it may have been only a sleep aid. Rejda did not have a criminal history until, after a medical procedure, he became addicted to pain killers. He told Miller his life began to spiral downward afterward.

"The Bob Rejda that I knew was no longer this drug-addicted person and, despite his horrible crime, was a very decent human being to speak to. He was intelligent and calm."

Rejda's grandmother raised him within a mile of 24-year-old Lauren Kiefer and, though they didn't keep in touch, the two had attended the same high school.

Her mother, Janice, discovered her daughter's body in their home after returning from a family holiday gathering about 7:15 p.m. Dec. 25. Both of them attended the party, but they left separately.

Authorities accused Rejda of breaking in through a window and then, after Lauren interrupted the burglary, fatally beating her with a baseball bat. Authorities said he was linked through DNA evidence, phone records and incriminating statements.

In the Aurora rape, a woman reported she was attacked Oct. 9, 2005, while getting out of her car in the garage. She could not identify her rapist, who covered her face with a pillow. Prosecutors said Rejda was linked to that crime, too, through DNA and a fingerprint.