Elgin murder victim remembered as a wonderful person
Neighbors remembered murder victim Gail Peck as a kind, sweet woman who brought soup to the sick and took care of the elderly.
The news that the 76-year-old woman's son was charged this week with her gruesome killing left neighbors reeling in Oak Brook, where she lived for more than 20 years, and in Elgin, where she moved about two months ago.
"Gail was a wonderful, wonderful person," said Lois Falter of Oak Brook.
"Whenever someone in the neighborhood was sick, she was the first person to bring them over a pot of soup and check on them. Anyone who lives here that knew her would say the same things. She was very bright and very kind. There was an elderly couple who lived at the end of the block who Gail basically adopted and took care of for a number of years. Her death is a traumatic loss to us."
Gail Peck had retired from her work as a Realtor. She had multiple back surgeries and moved into the ranch-style townhouse in Elgin at the advice of her doctor, so she wouldn't have to use the stairs, Falter said.
Neighbors Roger and Shirley Vachon of Elgin said they often saw her walk her dog, a Bichon named Doris.
"I talked to her three or four times," Shirley Vachon said. "She was a very sweet, lovely person. She was soft-spoken and easy to talk to."
Authorities say Gail Peck's only son, Brian M. Peck, 55, killed his mother Oct. 25 after a dispute over the volume of his music. He was ordered held without bail Tuesday.
Prosecutors say Brian Peck told police he knocked down his mother, stomped on her head and used a handsaw to cut up her body in the house they shared in Elgin, and he threw her body parts into a lagoon near Diversey Harbor and in Lake Michigan near Montrose Harbor, both in Chicago.
The Cook County medical examiner's office confirmed Thursday the human remains found in the lagoon Oct. 28 belonged to Gail Peck.
Brian Peck initially concealed her death by calling 911 and telling police she vanished after leaving home to walk her dog, prosecutors said.
"The story is just horrible," Roger Vachon said.
"It's just sad. It's heartbreaking," Shirley Vachon said.
Brian Peck had spent time in jail; he had six felony convictions and four misdemeanor convictions, authorities said. His background includes pleading guilty in June 2016 to domestic battery and pleading guilty in August 2013 to aggravated battery.
Gail Peck filed an order of protection against her son in March 2016 in DuPage County, court records show. She told authorities he put her in a chokehold and told her he was going to kill her after they argued over him playing loud music.
Falter said she was aware Gail Peck had sought the order of protection. Her back problems caused her to need help at home, so he moved back in, she said.
"As soon as I heard she was missing," Falter said, "I knew what happened."
• Daily Herald staff writer James Fuller contributed to this story.