Police have charged two men in connection with homicides of a Darien couple and their son.
Jacob Nodarse and Johnny Borizov were charged with the murders of Jeffrey Kramer, 50; his wife Lori, 48, and their 20-year-old son Michael. The family was shot to death in their Darien home around 3 a.m. Tuesday.
"Jacob Nodarse was Johnny Borizov's tool to carry out horrendous violence," DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett said.
Borizov approached Nodarse to help with the crime in February, prosecutors said. The two men had known each other for years; Nodarse lived in a building owned by Borizov's uncle. Borizov's motive for the murders was apparently to gain custody of the 1-year-old son he had with Angela Kramer, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors can not confirm whether Borizov offered Nodarse compensation for the killing, or whether Nodarse murdered the family simply to assist Borizov.
However, police do know that Nodarse last month "quit his job abruptly" at a Naperville BMW dealership.
To gain entrance to the Kramer's home, Nodarse used a hammer to break a first floor window.
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Angela, the original target, survived the attack by hiding in a closet and calling police. Nodarse searched for her during the shootings but couldn't find her. Angela's older brother, Anthony, escaped through a basement window. A friend of Michael Kramer ran out of the house and tried to find help.
When police arrived at the Kramer's residence, they found the three bodies and Angela Kramer, but Nodarse was nowhere to be found. Police later tracked him to Lee County, Florida, where they arrested him Wednesday on obstruction of justice charges.
Nodarse was returned to Chicago Friday. His statements to Florida investigators led to the discovery of clothes and the murder weapon in a dumpster outside a Terre Haute, Indiana IHOP, prosecutors said.
Borizov, meanwhile, had been in custody in a Darien jail since Tuesday. Officers had until Friday morning to charge or release him, but a judge ruled Friday afternoon that he could be held without charges.
“This case and these charges are the result of an outstanding team effort, " Birkett said Saturday at a press conference. “We are also grateful to the countless citizens who provided information to law enforcement and especially the Kramer family survivors who are experiencing the worst nightmare that can fall on any family."
Both men will appear for a bond hearing Sunday at 8 a.m. in Wheaton.
