Villa Park man, mother killed in Arkansas

Naperville resident Ben Javra spent Christmas still wondering what he did to deserve such a great mother and brother, both of whom were taken from him as part of what authorities believe was a double-murder suicide committed Friday by the woman's husband in rural Arkansas.

Killed were Victor A. Robles, 20, of Villa Park and his mother, Louise Svensson, 56, formerly of Lombard.

Baxter County Sheriff John F. Montgomery said Harry D. Svensson, 52, shot and killed his wife and then her son before taking his own life.

Javra said he'll remember how his mother sometimes would talk to him about life for hours, always leaving him with unmatched words of wisdom.

Robles' wit and intelligence are just two things about his brother that will be etched in his memory.

“My mom was the best mom anybody can ask for,” said Javra, 28. “Victor was the best brother anybody can ask for.”

Police said deputies responded to a 911 call at 9 a.m. Friday regarding a woman who appeared to be lying on the floor in a pool of blood in her home near the Baxter County seat of Mountain Home in north-central Arkansas. Authorities said the caller had been unable to reach the home's residents and wanted to check on their welfare.

After forcing their way into the house through a locked front door, a Baxter County deputy and an Arkansas State Police officer found three bodies, each with apparent gunshot wounds.

Evidence at the scene suggested Harry Svensson killed his wife, then Robles. Montgomery said in a release it appeared Harry Svensson finally turned the gun on himself, but no official conclusions have been reached and an investigation continues.

Police said a handgun, spent shell casings and other undisclosed items were recovered as evidence.

Autopsies were scheduled at the Arkansas state medical examiner's office in Little Rock. Montgomery said Saturday he doesn't expect more information to be released until the autopsies are completed, which likely will take at least a week.

Robles' father, Aurelio Robles of Villa Park, said his son graduated in 2008 from Willowbrook High School in Villa Park with straight A's. He said his son then attended College of DuPage in Wheaton and earned an associate degree in psychology with plans for a pharmacy career.

Shunning television, Victor Robles enjoyed movies, chess, working out and maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle by watching his diet. Aurelio Robles said his son never gave him any trouble.

“He was a late bloomer, and he was really shining,” Robles said. “He was my angel.”

Javra said his mother worked as business manager at St. Anthony Parish in Joliet and moved to Arkansas in early 2007 to start a new life away from a metropolitan area. He said his mother — who married Svensson about four months before Friday's slayings — told him she was being verbally abused but was willing to give her husband a chance.

“I urged her that he was a lost cause,” Javra said Saturday. “She was not going to change him.”

Victor Robles sent a text message about Harry Svensson verbal abusing him and his mother when his visit began in Arkansas last week, Javra added. Aurelio Robles said his son went to Arkansas to visit his mother for the holidays because he expected to be busy with a pharmacy internship over the summer.