The body of a woman found in the trunk of a car in south suburban Midlothian Monday night has been positively identified by the Medical Examiner's Office as a missing 44-year-old mother of three.
A vehicle matching that of Irma Rodriguez, the Oak Forest woman who had been missing since Sunday night, was found at 14800 Kilpatrick. The woman's body, now thought to be Rodriguez, had suffered an apparent gunshot wound.
The victim was the wife of a former Chicago police officer dismissed from the force after he allegedly shot Rodriguez in the left hand during an argument in 1997, according to WGN-Ch. 9. He was later acquitted of attempted murder, according to court records.
Irma Rodriguez filed for divorce from Norberto Rodriguez in Sept. 2007 after 13 years of marriage, records show. They were due in family court Tuesday morning at the Daley Center.
Oak Forest Mayor Hank Kuspa was with his daughter at graduation ceremonies for one of the Rodriguez children this week, WBBM reported. The mayor noted the absence of his daughter's young classmate and the boy's mother, Irma Rodriguez.
"I'm sorry to say Ms. Rodriguez was not a parent that would not come to her son's graduation," Kuspa said. "So we're praying for the best but we're kind of bracing ourselves for the worst."
A WBBM source said that police in Oak Forest have identified a "person of interest" in the woman's disappearance and death.
