Murder Suspect Charged In Park Ridge

Yuron Robinson, 34, of 7000 block of South Dante, Chicago, has been charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 9 strangulation killing of Henry W. Nowak in Park Ridge. Nowak was also known as Henry "Chip" Mallek, 39, in Park Ridge.

At a press conference, Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminski said Nowak had left his apartment in the Edison Park neighborhood of Chicago, near Niles and Park Ridge, Feb. 8 to meet Robinson. Police suspect Robinson owed Nowak some money, possibly for drug transactions. Kaminski speculated the two argued, and it escalated to the point where Robinson strangled Nowak.

"The motive seemed to be related to money and drugs and probably a poor business transaction that didn’t work," Kaminski said.

Police apprehended Robinson Sunday in downtown Chicago as he was attempting to board a bus headed to Iowa, Kaminski told reporters at the press conference.

At the press conference, Mark Mallek, Henry Nowak Mallek's brother, asked Kaminski how police could be happy with one suspect when Henry Nowak Mallek's girlfriend had said he left to meet two people.

Kaminski responded police are still investigating.

Timeline of events

Kaminski traced the events from when a passerby called police at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday Feb. 9th to report a body on the ground in the 200 block of Summit, about a block south of the Park Ridge train station. Police found Nowak's body, without any identification, with his hands bound in front of him, Kaminski said.

Police investigators identified the body a short time later, as his family and friends reported he had not returned home after leaving to meet someone the night before, according to Kaminski. A few blocks away, he added, a citizen found Nowak's cell phone and turned it in to police.

On Friday, the Cook County medical examiner's office determined the cause of death was strangulation, and the Major Case Assistance Team (MCAT) joined Park Ridge police in investigating. They worked on the case for four days aggressively, Kaminski said, thanking MCAT Director Tom Gadomski, Park Ridge Detective John Anderson and Chicago Detective Tom Byrne.

As Kaminski spoke, Mark Mallek put his hand on his sister Nikki Mallek's back to comfort her.

He explained that Henry and Nikki changed their last names from Nowak to Mallek when his father adopted them as children.

One of the hardest parts of the experience was telling his mother about Henry's death, Mark Mallek said. She had to identify his body Friday at the medical examiner's office.

A wake will be held Thursday, he said.

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