Regional Police Report: NIU Freshman Found Dead, Bond Denied in Naperville Stabbing Deaths and More

DeKalb

NIU Freshman Found Dead in Fraternity House

A 2012 Palatine High School graduate attending Northern Illinois University was pronounced dead Friday morning in his fraternity house. 

. Police say there were no suspicious circumstances around the death that point to foul play, and an autopsy is scheduled for today. 

Naperville

Bond Denied for Mom Accused of Stabbing Children

Prosecutors said 40-year-old Elzbieta Plackowska told her 7-year-old son Justin and 5-year-old Olivia Dworakowski to get on their knees and pray before fatally stabbing both children nearly 100 times. 

The two young children pleaded for their lives as the woman killed her son first and then Olivia, stabbing them and slashing their throats, before also stabbing two dogs to death inside a townhouse in the 800 block of Quin Court in Naperville on Tuesday night, prosecutors said.

Plackowska was charged Wednesday night with two counts of first-degree murder. She appeared in DuPage County Court on Thursday morning, where Judge John Kinsella ordered that she be held without bond. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 21.

Crystal Lake

Man Charged in CVS Robbery

A Crystal Lake man arrested less than two weeks ago for firearms violations has now been linked to the September armed robbery at CVS Pharmacy in Crystal Lake.

Eric S. Sorenson, 29, of 198 Lake Ct., was arrested by Crystal Lake Police on Wednesday, and charged with one count armed robbery, a Class X felony, and one count of theft over $500, a Class 3 felony, according to a press release issued by Police Chief David Linder. 

Police said Sorenson was charged with the robbery, which occurred the evening of Sept. 2, at CVS Pharmacy, 1305 Randall Rd., Crystal Lake. Armed with a semi-automatic handgun, Sorenson passed the pharmacist a note demanding three bottles of Oxycodone, police said.

Wauconda

Firefighter Charged with Child Sexual Abuse

Donald Berthiaume, 41, of the 2500 Block of Fish Hook Way in Wauconda was arrested on Oct. 31, for two counts of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse. 

The victim, who was under the age of 13 at the time of the offense, reported to Lakemoor Police Department that in 2005 Berthiaume had inappropriate sexual contact with her when she was a juvenile. Lakemoor Police Department requested the assistance of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division to investigate the incident. 

Berthiaume is a 13 year veteran of the Wauconda Fire Department.

Des Plaines

'Elmer Fudd Bandit' Strikes Again

A serial bank robber who tried to rob a bank in Des Plaines has struck again, the FBI stated.

A TCF Bank branch located at 7342 W. Foster Ave. in Chicago was robbed Monday afternoon. The man is suspected of robbing several banks in the Chicago area in October and trying to rob the on Oct. 14.

The robbery is similar to the Oct. 14 attempted robbery in Des Plaines. In that incident, "The man approached the shift supervisor at the TCF Bank, and said, “Give me all your money or I’ll blow your head off.” He then showed the bank worker a notepad, which stated, according to police, “Give me all your money.”

On all of these occasions, the robber has worn a plaid flannel shirt, and in his most recent robberies, he has also worn a ballcap, which has led agents to refer to him as the 'Elmer Fudd Bandit,' the FBI stated.