Briefs: Arrest made in '82 killing
Authorities have arrested a 62-year-old man in the strangling death of a Southern Illinois University student from South suburban Olympia Fields a quarter of a century ago. Jackson County prosecutors charged Timothy Krajcir with four counts of murder in Deborah Sheppard's 1982 death. Sheppard was a 23-year-old senior marketing major when her naked body was found on the floor of her apartment in Carbondale. Police say there were no signs of a struggle, but a second autopsy revealed Sheppard may have been strangled or suffocated.
Truth in towing required:
Illinois motorists now have the law on their side to help protect against towing companies that swoop down on accident scenes, remove vehicles and then charge the owners high fees. "Truth in Towing" legislation signed into law Friday will shield thousands of drivers from unlicensed towers who prey on accident scenes, Gov. Rod Blagojevich said. "The last thing anybody should have to worry about after a car accident is whether the person towing their vehicle is going to rip them off and add to their trouble," Blagojevich said in a written statement. Some of the unlawful towing companies have charged motorists $1,000 or more.
New penalties for party hosts
A new Illinois law increases the penalties for adults who knowingly allow underage drinking in their homes. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the bill Friday, and it goes into effect immediately. Under the legislation, those convicted could get one to three years in prison and up to a $125,000 fine if they let teens drink and the drinking leads to serious injury or death. The bill is in response to a car accident that left two teens dead and three others injured after a house party in Deerfield last October. Blagojevich says parents have a responsibility to protect young people from harm, even it that isn't the popular choice.
Suspect in mental hospital
A man accused of slashing a University of Colorado freshman from Winnetka across the throat has been transferred to the Colorado State Mental Health Institute. Kenton Drew Astin, 39, was taken to the hospital Thursday. Authorities say Astin attacked 17-year-old Michael Knorps outside the student center on Monday, the first day of the semester. He underwent surgery and was released. Astin was sent to the state mental hospital in 2001 after he was accused of stabbing another man. Astin pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to attempted first-degree murder and other charges in that case.
Burns ruled cause of death
Thermal burns caused the Wednesday death of a Wheeling boy who'd tripped into a vat of hot oil days earlier, an official with the Cook County medical examiner's office said. The autopsy, performed Friday, also determined that 5-year-old Israel Hernandez's death was an accident. Hernandez had been playing at his home Sunday when he tripped into a turkey fryer being used to cook chili peppers, his family said. The canister toppled over, causing hot oil to scald the boy's back, family members said. He was flown to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he remained in the burn unit for four days before succumbing to his injuries. Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 has started a fund to help with expenses. Donations can be sent to District 21's superintendent's office, 999 W. Dundee Road, Wheeling, IL 60090.
Murder suspect indicted
A man arrested last month in the 2006 killing of a Rolling Meadows rap artist has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder, attempted murder, armed robbery and aggravated battery, prosecutors announced Friday. Patrick Taylor, 38, of Chicago is being held without bond in the murder of Marquis Lovings, a 30-year-old father and "AG Squad" rapper who was shot in his Rolling Meadows condominium on Aug. 19, 2006. Prosecutors said Taylor, with help from another offender who hasn't yet been arrested, entered Lovings' unlocked condo and held him and friends at gunpoint. Taylor hit Lovings with a pistol and dragged him into another room, authorities said, shooting him when he couldn't unlock a safe. One of Lovings' friends also was shot, but survived. Taylor will be in court again Sept. 24.
Guilty of indecent proposal
An Alaska man has been sentenced to 24 months' probation after pleading guilty this week to a charge that he flew into O'Hare International Airport to have sex with a teenage girl he met online. Benerito Angel, 42, entered his plea before Cook County Judge Carol Kipperman in the Maywood courthouse. Angel was arrested in mid-March as he exited O'Hare's terminal doors -- on his way, he thought, to meet a 14-year-old girl he'd chatted with online. That girl, though, turned out to be a Cook County sheriff's police officer posing as a teen. Angel, a civil engineer, had been flying home to Anchorage from a job in Turkey and had a Chicago layover. He was charged with one count of indecent solicitation of a child.
Bond set in sex case
Bond was set at $60,000 Friday for a 19-year-old man who prosecutors say sexually abused a 13-year-old girl. Prosecutors said Rufino Valazquez went to the Palatine home of the 13-year-old girl and had sex with her there while her parents were at work. Valazquez later admitted to police he knew the girl was 13, prosecutors told Cook County Judge Kay Marie Hanlon. Should Valazquez post bond, he'll have to abide by a curfew -- staying home from 6 until 10:30 p.m., when he leaves for his overnight shift at work. He's set to be back in court Sept. 28.