Chicago Criminal Lawyer Blog
The daughter-in-law of a Cook County board president has been charged with a grisly murder that occurred inside of an Atlanta home. Prosecutors have accused 40-year-old Ronisha Preckwinkle of murder, evidence tampering, and false imprisonment. When the couple lived here in Chicago, police records indicate that there were numerous domestic calls to their residence. However, Preckwinkle’s husband called the charges against his wife “preposterous.”
Ronisha Preckwinkle is accused of helping a registered sex offender carry out a disturbing attack on a 23-year-old woman. Since the attack occurred in her apartment, she is being charged with the assault. However, her husband says that is not where she was living.
Preckwinkle is accused of helping Dennis Lane, a recently paroled sex offender here in Illinois. Lane has been charged with felony murder and necrophilia. Police are currently running his DNA to tie him to other killings. Preckwinkle and Lane’s brother are accused of helping Lane dispose of the body and remove key pieces of evidence from the apartment.
Is Ronisha Preckwinkle connected to Dennis Lane?
The victim’s body was found half a mile away from the kill site next to another body. Dennis Lane has been charged with both murders, but Ronisha Preckwinkle has only been charged with the one murder. It is unclear as of yet that the police have any way of connecting Preckwinkle to Lane other than by an apartment where they say the murder occurred. If Preckwinkle was not living at the apartment at the time, as her husband claims, then the police have no legitimate way to connect Preckwinkle to the crime.
Essentially, Ronisha Preckwinkle is being accused of helping a sexual predator rape and murder a girl and then dispose of her body. While the charges make sense for Lane and his brother, they make a lot less sense for Preckwinkle.
According to Preckwinkle’s husband, the couple’s children currently reside with him. According to police records, police were called eight times to the couple’s apartment over a year and three months. None of the calls resulted in an arrest. One of the calls was related to a dispute with another resident within the complex.
Do the Police Have a Legitimate Case?
It sounds like their case against Dennis Lane will put him behind bars until his death. However, there is no clear connection to Ronisha Preckwinkle other than the fact that the police believe the apartment was in Preckwinkle’s name. While Preckwinkle has a history of anger management issues, that is not an indication that she would aid a sexual predator. Nonetheless, Preckwinkle remains behind bars in a Georgia jail awaiting the prosecution’s decision.
Talk to a Chicago Criminal Defense Attorney Today
If you have been accused of a crime based on very slim evidence, call David Freidberg today at (312) 560-7100 to discuss your situation and allow us to begin preparing your defense today.
