'Trouble House:' Violent History Between Raymond and Mary Lou Homolka Uncovered

ORLAND PARK, IL - Raymond and Mary Lou Homolka were married for more than 20 years, two decades mostly plagued by incidents of domestic violence and serious criminal charges sustained by both parties.

Raymond Homolka, 60, of the 14000 block of Sheri Lane in Orland Park is currently being held in the Cook County Jail without bond. Judge Peggy Chiampas denied a bond request during a Sunday court appearance that came one day after Homolka was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Mary Lou, who was found with a single gunshot wound to the head in the garage of the family home.

The charge isn’t Homolka’s first run-in with the law. In 2012, he was charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault, criminal trespass to property, disorderly conduct and three counts of resisting a peace officer after he was accused of drunkenly kicking and spitting blood at a police officer while refusing to leave Petey’s II restaurant in Orland Park. A report indicates that while officers had Homolka braced against a squad car’s trunk, he kicked his legs out behind him and hit an officer’s leg.

In court on Sunday, Assistant State's Attorney Kim Pressling said that there have been “approximately 11” domestic-violence related incidents at the Homolka’s Orland Park home since the couple had been married, according to a Daily Southtown report. Family accounts indicate the couple was married for "about 20 years."

"It was always the trouble house," Laura Rees, a neighbor, told the Southtown. "Police would come. You knew things weren't good. But I never suspected this."

A Chicago Tribune report shows Raymond Homolka was charged with two counts of domestic battery and unlawful interruption of reporting of a domestic battery following an alleged September 2000 incident at the same Sheri Lane home where Mary Lou was found dead on Friday.

Three years before that, he was charged with domestic battery after allegedly pushing a woman against a ladder and grabbing her by the mouth.

Carol Ann Watt, one of Mary Lou’s sisters, told the Southtown her late sister felt “trapped” in the marriage. While it started as a happy one, Watt said it turned violent over the years. At one point, Raymond Homolka was also charged with possession of an explosive or incendiary device. He spent 30 days in jail for the incident at Petey’s.

Other members of Mary Lou’s family described her as a “fun and generous animal lover” who had up to four dogs at once, the Southtown reported.

But she did not have a clean criminal record, either. A Chicago Tribune report from October 1995 indicates she was charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm after she allegedly shot a man in the face.

More than 20 years later, it’s her husband accused of succeeding in his murder attempt. Prosecutors said Raymond Homolka attempted to conceal the crime on Friday by hiding his wife's body in the garage, dousing their home with bleach and telling relatives that she had taken a vacation to Las Vegas, according to the Southtown report.

Raymond Homolka’s next scheduled court appearance will be Wednesday, when he is to appear at the Bridgeview courthouse.

Photo via Orland Park Police Department