Murder Of Crest Hill Man Inside His Home Remains Unsolved 1 Year Later

CREST HILL, IL — One year after 30-year-old Crest Hill resident Cody Houlihan died in an overnight stabbing inside his own home in the 2400 block of Red Oak Trail, the person suspected of ending his life has not been charged with a crime.

Crest Hill Police Chief Ed Clark told Joliet Patch during a recent interview that only two people were present at the time of the July 7, 2024, fatal stabbing — Houlihan and his live-in girlfriend, Jennifer Gilbert.

"It's still open and active with us. It is still being reviewed by the State's Attorney's Office," Clark remarked. "They are working on the investigation."

Clark declined to say whether he believes criminal charges will still be filed this year.

"I don't want to speculate on which way it will go," Clark answered. "I can just say he was a victim of a stabbing. It was still ruled a homicide. It appears to be a single stabbing. It's taken time, and we want to be correct. The detectives we have are working with the state's attorney's office."

On Red Oak Trail, Houlihan and Gilbert shared a ranch-style house together, along with their two dogs. Nobody else was inside the home at the time of the deadly stabbing.

A prior resident of Connecticut, Gilbert no longer lives at the home in Crest Hill.

On Wednesday morning, Joliet Patch's editor called Gilbert on her cell phone and spoke with her briefly, but the call was disconnected after Gilbert was asked to comment on Houlihan's death.

Last July, Crest Hill police issued a press release revealing that an arrest was not being made.

According to the agency, "The Crest Hill Police Department has announced that no charges will be filed at this time in the recent tragic incident involving the death of Cody Houlihan, who was fatally stabbed inside his residence on July 7. After a thorough and comprehensive investigation, Crest Hill Police Detectives have met with the Will County State's Attorney’s Office, and it has been determined that the circumstances surrounding the incident do not warrant a charge at this time."

When officers responded to the 911 call in the 2400 block of Red Oak Trail, they discovered Cody Houlihan on the ground with a stab wound, and he was unresponsive. Despite immediate medical attention, he died from his injuries.

"While at the Crest Hill Police Station, Cody Houlihan’s girlfriend's attorney arrived, and they advised she would not be giving a statement to authorities surrounding the events that occurred at her house," Crest Hill Police announced on July 9, 2024.

During a recent interview, Crest Hill's police chief acknowledged that Gilbert still has not been interviewed surrounding the deadly event inside of her shared home with Houlihan.

Crest Hill police are aware she has left the area and moved back to Connecticut.

"I would just say we have not had any recent contact with her," Chief Clark told Patch. "Obviously, when somebody does not offer information, it does slow the process. However, there are other aspects we can piece together."

Clark said Gilbert cannot be compelled to make a statement or be interviewed by his police detectives, either.

"Obviously, under the Constitution, that's protected, and we're not going to violate it," he said.

Victim's Phone Remains At Chicago Forensic Laboratory

Houlihan's family told Joliet Patch it is their understanding that law enforcement officials have been unable to unlock the password for Houlihan's phone, even though the cell phone has been in the FBI's possession for nearly a year.

Chief Clark told Patch that Houlihan's phone remains at the FBI's Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory in Chicago, and he remains optimistic the phone can be accessed in the near future.

"Right now, the evidence is with the RCFL in Chicago, and we are currently working with them," Clark noted. "It is still being analyzed, and they are working on it. Like any investigation, we will let the evidence take us wherever that leads."

Meanwhile, with no charges filed and Gilbert moving back to the East Coast, Houlihan's family has wondered whether the investigation will reach a standstill.

"She moved to Connecticut," Houlihan's mother pointed out.

The victim's mother said her son and Gilbert dated for a couple of years, and they had shared the house in Crest Hill "not even a year."

"They were only dating. Jen was my husband's best friend's daughter," Houlihan's mother remarked.

She said the family asked Crest Hill police last year why no arrests were being made.

"They said she's saying self-defense," Joanne Saccomanno remarked. "Supposedly, if it was, to me, I would be telling my alibi. I would not be silent. I would be talking."

Houlihan Dies Shortly After Returning Home From McDonald's

A GoFundMe was established after Houlihan's homicide, called "Support Cody Houlihan's Family in Their Unexpected Loss GoFundMe established following his death."

"Cody unexpectedly left us on Sunday, July 7th, 2024. He was a son, a brother, a father, and a friend. The number of lives Cody touched cannot be measured just like the kindness and loving Cody had for family, friends, and acquaintances," the GoFundMe proclaimed.

Saccomanno said her family has not spoken with Gilbert since the loss of her son. She said they had a celebration of life at the American Legion in Lockport that drew more than 200 people.

"Let me tell you, there was no parking. They were parking on the grass and everything," Saccomanno told Joliet Patch during Wednesday's interview.

Gilbert did not attend the celebration of life, according to Cody's mother. At the time of his death, Houlihan worked at the Southern Glazer distributor in Bolingbrook. His family had moved to the Joliet area from Oak Lawn, and he had graduated from Plainfield Central High School.

At no time since her son's death has Gilbert contacted Houlihan's closest friends or his family, according to Saccomanno.

"They were all his high school friends, they were a very cool group, but they welcomed her," Saccomanno said. "Nothing, not a peep, but she was not very good in communicating."

Cody Houlihan's Mother: 'There Should Be Justice Here'

Patch asked Saccomanno if she remains unsure why her son's homicide has not resulted in criminal charges after a year.

"I am," she answered. "How could you take someone's life and for it not to have any repercussions?"

As for her son's last day of life, July 4th weekend 2024, "I know they were out all day and drinking," Saccomanno said. "It was the holidays, and they were at a friend's pool party."

After the pool party, Gilbert and Houlihan visited a Crest Hill-area bar, Saccomanno said. According to her, Gilbert used a ride-share to go home, while Houlihan stayed at the bar with a few of his friends and one of his co-workers. After he left the bar, Houlihan went to a nearby McDonald's restaurant to order food before returning home.

Sometime around 3 a.m., Houlihan suffered a stab wound and a 911 call was made. Inside the house, Crest Hill police found Houlihan unresponsive and he was pronounced dead. The police recovered the knife used in the slaying.

Houlihan's mother said the knife punctured her son's lung and a main artery. "They said he was stabbed right there in the shoulder blade," she remarked.

It's his mother's understanding that her son may have been stabbed within 10 minutes of his return home from the McDonald's fast-food restaurant.

A key question for family members, Saccomanno said, is whether Gilbert had any scratches or visible marks on her body — physical evidence to show the stabbing may have been self-defense.

"If it was the other way around, I know my son would be sitting in jail," Saccomanno suggested.

Another lingering question after a year's passage, Saccomanno said, "is why we're not moving quickly enough and why she was not arrested? I don't want to be 90 years old when they contact me and say, 'we got her.'"

Saccomanno said that lead Crest Hill police investigator Conor Sweeney assigned to her son's homicide "did really work hard. He was interviewing friends, neighbors, everybody ... the investigation is being worked on," she stressed.

"Nothing is going to bring him back, but there should be justice here. He also has old girlfriends that they've talked to. People are constantly asking me what's happening with the case, and I tell them, 'I'm still waiting for an answer,'" his mother said.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Crest Hill Homicide: Live-In Girlfriend Isn't Being Charged In Death