Husband accused in May stabbing fighting extradition
More than two months after he sparked a nationwide manhunt, a U.S. Navy recruiter charged with fatally stabbing his pregnant wife in Villa Park peacefully surrendered at a Wyoming homeless shelter.
Hours after his capture, a handcuffed Eric Gilford refused to waive his extradition to Illinois during a Friday court appearance in Teton County, Wyo. The 35-year-old Downers Grove man occasionally gazed into the courtroom gallery but did not show outward emotion during his brief court appearance.
Nearly a dozen police officers closed in on Gilford about 7 p.m. Central time Thursday while he was eating a piece of marble cake at the Good Samaritan Mission in Jackson. He was unarmed and did not resist arrest.
After setting up a perimeter outside the shelter along the 200 block of Pearl Street, officers from Jackson, the Teton County sheriff's office, and the U.S. Marshals Service made the arrest. Police also confirmed Gilford's identity through a fingerprint comparison.
"We caught him off-guard, which was our plan," said Lt. Robert Gilliam of the Jackson Police Department. "He offered no resistance and has cooperated so far."
"We are relieved," said Dennis Courtney, the slain woman's father. "This is bringing up a very sensitive issue in our family and we're doing our best to cope."
Gilford checked into the homeless shelter July 30 under the alias Brian Woolman, a name authorities said he pilfered from military records. Good Samaritan's Georgia Ligori described Gilford as polite, clean-cut and eager to work.
"I'm absolutely shocked. We had no idea," said Ligori, director of administration, who witnessed the arrest. "He did not try to run. He didn't deny who he was."
Police had hunted Gilford since his bride, Kristine, 35, was found clinging to life May 26 after suffering multiple stab wounds. The Downers Grove couple married in February and were expecting their first child together in October.
Kristine left Gilford in the weeks leading up to the alleged attack, though, and had been staying in Villa Park with a boyfriend. He did not return a phone message Friday seeking comment.
Neighbors found Kristine's daughter, Gracie Mae, wandering outside the apartment on the 300 block of North Ardmore Avenue after the attack as her badly injured mother struggled to breathe. Kristine Gilford was pronounced dead a short time later at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.
The violence occurred on Gracie May's fourth birthday. She was not injured.
Officers located Eric Gilford's abandoned black 2008 Dodge Charger in an architectural firm parking lot in downtown Fargo, N.D., one day after the murder, but he was nowhere to be found. The U.S. Border Patrol was notified in case Gilford tried to enter Canada, but the trail grew cold.
Earlier this week, U.S. Marshals officials tracked the fugitive to the Seattle, Wash., area where they learned he had been staying at a homeless shelter, but Gilford again was gone.
Marshals finally closed in on him late Thursday in Wyoming after developing information that Gilford had applied for a Wyoming identification card while seeking a job.
"In this case, numerous techniques were used to determine the location of this fugitive," said John O'Malley, chief Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Illinois. "We are always willing to assist other law enforcement agencies with fugitive investigations so that they can better concentrate on investigating the crime at hand."
Teton County Sheriff Jim Whalen said authorities were uncertain how Gilford ended up in the resort community, known for its skiing and tourism. The Wyoming town is about 900 miles by road from Fargo.
Ligori said Gilford checked into the homeless shelter July 30 with another young man, whom she assumed he befriended while traveling. The other man is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Gilford is wanted in Illinois on charges alleging first-degree murder and intentional homicide of an unborn child. DuPage State's Attorney Joseph Birkett said he expects Gilford to return to Illinois within 90 days.
Gilford has not offered a confession, Birkett said.
"The evidence demonstrates that the murders of Kristine Gilford and her unborn child were cold and calculated," Birkett said. "If a jury finds that these facts exist beyond a reasonable doubt, Eric Gilford faces a sentence of natural life or the death penalty."
Kristine Gilford grew up in Arlington Heights, later moving to Naperville in her high school years. Courtney said Kristine was a full-time mom whose daughter was her life.
"She was very outgoing and gregarious," Dennis Courtney said of his oldest child. "She had a captivating personality and was very much a people person."
He said the family met Eric Gilford earlier this year.
Gilford is due in Teton County court Aug. 12. Judge Curt Haws denied bail and appointed an assistant public defender to represent Gilford, who said he likely did not have access to money.
• The Jackson Hole News&Guide contributed to this report.
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<li><a href="/story/?id=399117">Operator of Wyoming shelter shocked at Gilford arrest<span class="date">[08/06/10]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=384257">Hunted man charged with pregnant wife's murder in Villa Park <span class="date">[05/28/10]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=383986">Police combing nation for husband in Villa Park murder <span class="date">[05/27/10]</span></a></li>
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<li><a href="http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=73037" target="new">America's Most Wanted update</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=73037" target="new">America's Most Wanted case file</a></li>
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