There may have been a break in solving the murders of the husband and mother of U. S. District Judge Joan Lefkow. The Chicago Tribune reports:
Investigators early today said a man who shot himself in the head during a traffic stop in Wisconsin had a suicide note claiming responsibility for the slaying of U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow’s husband and mother last week.
Members of the task force of Chicago police and federal agents said a van driven by Bart Ross, whose last known address was in the 4500 block of North Bernard Street in Chicago, was stopped in West Allis, near Milwaukee, about 6 p.m. As officers approached the car, Ross killed himself with a gunshot to the head, officials say.
Investigators said the man had a suicide note that included an admission that he shot the judge’s family.
The note included details in the case that were not released to the public, investigators said. Sources close to the investigation added that there was a list in the van of all the people who had mistreated him, including judges.
In the vehicle were about 300 .22 caliber shells. Investigators found three casings of the same caliber in the Lefkow home this week. Investigators also said they should have enough physical evidence, including DNA, a fingerprint and other items from the crime scene, to make a definitive comparison.
Sources close to the case said the judge had ruled against Ross in a civil matter. He was not immediately thought to have ties to any hate group.
There will be a news conference at 8:00am CST this morning. I’ll update this post then.
UPDATE: West Allis Wisconsin police chief Dean Puschnig gave a brief statement and is now answering questions. He confirmed the basic facts of the story: a West Allis police officer made a traffic stop on a suspicious-looking van with no taillights; when he approached the car a shot went off which blew out the driver’s side window of the vehicle; the occupant of the vehicle had killed himself with a single gunshot to the head; a suicide note claiming responsibility for the murders of Michael Lefkow and Donna Humphrey, the husband and mother of Joan Lefkow, was found in the van; they notified the Milwaukee and Chicago offices of the FBI; an FBI evidence collection team removed evidence from the van; they’re reviewing the evidence now. No further details are available at this time.
I’ll continue to update this post if more information is available today. BTW, the 4500 N. Bernard address they gave for Bart Ross is about twenty blocks from where I’m sitting.
ANOTHER UPDATE: There’s a bit more from the New York Times:
Representing himself, Ross sued the University of Illinois at Chicago Hospital and Clinics, the state of Illinois and others over his cancer treatment. Among other claims, he alleged doctors committed a “terrorist act” against him by giving him radiation treatment without his consent.
Lefkow rejected the lawsuit on a technicality in 2004.
FWIW there’s been no official confirmation that the man in the van was Ross. It may be irreverent on my part but my immediate reaction to the Times report was “Pro se? What was he thinking?”
