Waukegan Woman's Former Neighbor Charged With Her Murder

WAUKEGAN, IL — A Waukegan man has been charged with one count of first degree murder for killing a woman at her home in September as a result of a three-month case investigation, the Lake County State's Attorney's office announced in a Wednesday news release. During a Wednesday bond court hearing, 41-year-old Chad B. Jones, of the 2500 block of Garrick Avenue in Waukegan, was ordered held at the Lake County Jail on $2 million bail by Lake County Associate Judge Paul Novak, the news release said. The case ends an investigation that resulted in charges in three states, according to the state's attorney's office.

On Sept. 15, officers from the Waukegan Police Department responded to a request from 74-year-old Marlyn Cook's family at a home in the 2700 block of Evergreen Road after the Cooks had found Cook dead inside the home, according to the news release. Officers arrived and found

Officers got to the home and found signs of forced entry, and were informed by family members Cook was last seen alive on Sept. 12, the release said. Based on that information, the Waukegan Police Department Major Crime Unit processed the home (scene) for signs of possible foul play, and the Criminal Investigations Division came and conducted the investigation, officials said.

On Sept. 16, the Lake County Coroner’s office conducted an autopsy on Cook, and her death was classified as undetermined pending additional lab results, according to the news release.

During the investigation, detectives determined Jones and his car — a silver 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis — were in the area on Sept. 13.

On. Sept. 18, Jones was arrested by police in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, on accusations of home invasion. He was arrested after trying to escape from officers, the state's attorney's office said, according to the Lake Geneva Police Department. Jones arrived to that home invasion in his silver 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis, according to the news release.

The next day, a friend contacted a Cook family member and told them about Jones' arrest, That family member contacted Waukegan police detectives and told them Jones was a former neighbor who lived on an adjacent street, and moved from the area one year earlier. The family member also remembered Jones drove a silver Mercury Grand Marquis, the state's attorney's office reported. On Sept. 20, Waukegan police detectives went to Walworth County Jail to try to speak with Jones, officials added.

Jones was released from Walworth County Jail on Sept. 21 after posting $10,000 cash bond, and returned to Waukegan before driving to Dubuque, Iowa, according to the news release. That's where he was arrested on accusations of fleeing a traffic stop and was taken to the Dubuque County Jail.

On Sept. 25, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office with the Dubuque County Attorney’s office, issued a search warrant for DNA from Jones, and Waukegan police detectives went to Iowa to execute the warrant, the news release said. On Oct. 11, Waukegan police detectives were informed that Jones' DNA was found on the victim's body, officials said.

On Nov. 7, detectives in the Cook investigation executed a search warrant on Jones’s car, which officials said was still in the custody of the Lake Geneva Wisconsin Police Department.

Jones was transferred on Nov. 24 from the Dubuque County Jail to the Walworth County Jail due to home invasion charges stemming from the Lake Geneva incident, the news release said. He posted bond in Walworth County the next day, but was arrested by police detectives immediately after he was driven back to Waukegan, officials added. That's where he was charged with the Sept. 13 residential burglary of the Cook home, and ordered held in Lake County Jail on $500,000 bail.

Nearly one month later, Waukegan police detectives and investigators from the state's attorney's office were informed that based on DNA evidence, Jones had contact with Cook, according to the news release.

On Tuesday, the Lake County Coroner's office changed the woman's cause of death to homicide, and the state's attorney's office approved charges of first degree murder for Jones, the release said. Assistant Lake County State's Attorney Russell Caskey said Wednesday in bond court that DNA test results showed Jones's blood was found on Cook's face and under the fingernails of both of her hands.

Jones is due back in court on Jan. 29 for a preliminary hearing, according to the news release.