Man Found Dead In Trunk Likely Saved Wife's Life: Sheriff

CRETE TOWNSHIP, IL — The Will County Sheriff's Office said a 63-year-old man found bound in the trunk of his vehicle likely saved his wife's life before dying after the couple was attacked during a home invasion. The Will County Coroner's Office identified the man as unincorporated Crete Township resident Francisco Aranda .

Police said they were dispatched to the home in the 26000 block of South Klemme Road at 10:25 am. Monday after a relative of Aranda and his wife requested a welfare check, saying neither had shown up at work.

Deputies were given access to the home by a family member and made entry to the attached garage, where they found Aranda's wife, 59, inside the couple's 2003 Chevy Impala. Deputies were not able to see through the windows of the vehicle because of extreme condensation, but found the woman when they opened the car door.

Police said her hands were tightly bound behind her back. She told deputies that two masked male suspects entered their home on Sunday night to rob the couple.

Police said the intruders bound the hands of both Aranda and his wife and placed them in the trunk of the Impala. In an attempt to escape, Aranda began kicking at the back seat and was able to loosen one side, allowing his wife to crawl through the opening.

She told police she heard her husband breathing erratically before she passed out.

"Aranda’s actions most likely saved his wife’s life," the sheriff's office said in a statement issued Tuesday. She was taken to St. Margaret's Hospital, where she was treated for severe bruising from her hands being tightly bound. Police said she was expected to recover and would be released Tesday.

Aranda was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:25 p.m. Police said he had no external injuries or trauma to his body, and said an autopsy conducted Tuesday was inconclusive.

"Will County Sheriff’s detectives have been vigorously working this investigation since they responded to the scene yesterday," police said in a statement. "They will continue following leads until the offenders of this horrendous crime are caught and prosecuted."

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the sheriff’s Investigations Unit at 815-727-8574.