Author: Paul Stukel

A Naperville woman who, in November 2020, shot and killed her boyfriend and then used video-chat to confront his other girlfriend while he lay dead in the background was convicted of murder on Friday after a four-day-long trial. DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced Friday that a jury has found Rosa Lagrone, 40, guilty in the murder of her boyfriend Darnell Manns in November 2020. The jury returned their guilty verdict against following approximately two and one half hours of deliberations. The trial was in front of Judge Daniel Guerin. According to prosecutors, on November 6, 2020, at approximately…

This past weekend was a violent one the City of Aurora, with two separate stabbing incidents sending three people to the hospital. On Saturday at approximately 5:30pm, Aurora Police responded to a reported stabbing inside a residence in the 500 block of Glenview Avenue where officers found an adult male victim with stab wounds. The officers provided emergency aid until he victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The investigation indicated the incident resulted from a sudden altercation between acquaintances inside the home. A 25-year-old Aurora man was taken into custody at the…

According to a press release from the City of Geneva, an 18-year-old Geneva man died Sunday evening after he was struck by an eastbound freight train near the Western Avenue grade crossing in Geneva. At approximately 9:51pm, Geneva Police officers and firefighters were dispatched for a report of a train accident involving a pedestrian. Upon arrival, police officers met with the train conductor and located the teen near the Union Pacific-West railway tracks east of Western Avenue. He was pronounced dead on the scene. The teen was struck by the train on the northernmost track west of the Western Avenue…

A Missouri man has been arrested by U.S. Marshals after an investigation by the Oswego Police Department uncovered evidence of alleged criminal sexual assault of a minor that occurred in Oswego over a four-month period in 2025. In December 2025, Oswego Police Detectives concluded a three-month investigation that resulted in the arrest of the 74-year-old suspect, who has been charged with three counts of predatory criminal sexual assault, three counts of criminal sexual assault, and 15 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. It is alleged that the suspect had sexual conduct with a minor relative, who was under 13 years…

Five individuals are in custody following an armed robbery Thursday afternoon that included a vehicle chase ending in a crash near East Galena Boulevard and North State Street. On Friday afternoon around 3:25pm, Aurora police officers responded to the area of Howell Place and Fourth Avenue for a report that a juvenile victim had been approached by two masked offenders who displayed a firearm before forcibly taking the victim’s property. The victim was walking home from school when two suspects, both dressed in black and wearing ski masks, blocked the victim’s path on the sidewalk. One offender produced a handgun,…

A 52-year-old Elgin man who was reported missing in late January was found dead in a creek in West Dundee Monday morning. On January 22, 2026, a family member of Joseph Johnson, contacted Elgin police to report that Mr. Johnson had not been seen since January 14, 2026, in Elgin, and did not believe Mr. Johnson to be in danger or a danger to himself. Detectives from the Major Investigations Division began an investigation and spoke with family and friends, reviewed surveillance videos and canvassed locations he was known to frequent. Detectives were able to determine that Mr. Johnson was…

Six-time Tony-Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen makes its Chicago-area premier at The Paramount Theatre in Aurora beginning tonight and running through March 22. With music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, based on the book by Steven Levenson, and under the direction of Jessica Fisch, Dear Evan Hansen has been called an honest and original story for all of us who just want to be seen. “Dear Evan Hansen: Today is going to be a good day and here’s why…” That’s how Evan starts every day, writing himself a letter about why it’s going to be a good…

A 19-year-old Naperville man is in custody after allegedly being caught in possession of a stolen vehicle Sunday morning. Naperville Police were dispatched to the 900 block of North Brainard Street on Sunday for reports that several vehicles on the block had been burglarized overnight and that one, a 2007 Honda Civic, had been stolen. At approximately 2:30pm on Monday, the stolen vehicle was detected by license plate reader technology and followed into the Naperville area by an Illinois State Police trooper. When Naperville Police arrived in the area, the driver stopped the vehicle in the 800 block of N.…

A 62-year-old Pingree Grove man has been found guilty of murdering a Crystal Lake man execution-style and subsequently hiding the body at a residence in Hampshire Township. Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser announced that a jury has found Douglas Ottesen guilty of First-Degree Murder (a Class M felony) and Concealment of a Homicidal Death (a Class 3 felony). According to prosecutors, on April 4, 2024, the Crystal Lake Police Department initiated an investigation into a resident who had been last seen alive March 12, 2024, as he was attempting to travel to family in Florida. An investigation indicated that the circumstances…

A 28-year-old Chicago man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for breaking into a Naperville home in the summer of 2022. At the time of the offense, the man was on probation out of Cook County after pleading guilty to aggravated domestic battery charges in April 2022. DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced that Adam Stone, formerly of the 600 block of East. Groveland Park, appeared at his sentencing hearing in front of Judge Margaret O’Connell, who handed down the sentence. On May 6, 2025, following a two-day bench trial which concluded on April 22, 2025, Judge O’Connell…