Attorneys Leslie Jones (67) and Thomas Johnson (70) found dead in their home under suspicious circumstances

[raisedbywolves]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/15/us/il...ead/index.html

Police are investigating what they call "suspicious deaths" of a husband and wife, both well-known Chicago attorneys, found dead in their home Monday night.

Oak Park Police were called to perform a welfare check on Leslie Jones, 67, and Thomas Johnson, 70, Monday night. When they arrived around 7:30 p.m. Monday, they found the couple dead, according to CNN affiliate WLS.

Preliminary information indicates the deaths occurred under suspicious circumstances, and none of their injuries appeared to be self-inflicted, said Oak Park Police Chief LaDon Reynolds.

Neighbors honored the couple by playing music from their porches, honoring who prominent Chicago lawyer Dan Herbert called "a true leader and really a hero." Herbert met Johnson when he was working as a hearing officer for the Chicago Police Board, the station said.

"No matter how many times you'd met them, you walked away feeling better about yourself but more importantly you felt motivated to do good," Herbert said.

The couple were Harvard Law School graduates who worked at the same downtown Chicago firm, according to WLS. They had children and grandchildren.
Every weekend for years, Herbert said, he met someone whose life was changed by the couple.

Neighbors said the couple lived in the home where they were found for more than 20 years and were determined to improve the lives of those in their community, WLS reported.

Police are still investigating what happened in that home.

[raisedbywolves]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2...ides-fair-oaks

Two attorneys found dead in their Oak Park home on Monday night — including one who worked as a de facto judge in disciplinary cases involving Chicago police officers — were stabbed to death, authorities revealed Wednesday.

Thomas E. Johnson, 69, and Leslie Ann Jones, 67, died of multiple sharp force injuries, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. Their deaths were ruled homicides.

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile...s-lawyer-wife/

Two prominent attorneys, husband and wife, were recently murdered in a wealthy suburb of Chicago. Now, local police are imploring the public for their help to move the case forward.

“Part of the investigative process is not only to examine the scene, but also to look beyond the incident for movements in the area that might offer clues that can help solve this heinous crime,” Oak Park Police Chief LaDon Reynolds said on Monday. “That’s why I am asking residents in the surrounding blocks to help by sharing any security video they may have recorded up to a week prior to the incident.”

On April 13, police discovered the bodies of 67-year-old Leslie Ann Jones and her 69-year-old husband Thomas E. Johnson–titular partners at the Chicago-based law firm of Johnson, Jones, Snelling, Gilbert & Davis. The couple had been repeatedly stabbed to death.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Johnson was well-known in social justice circles due to his work as a hearing officer for the Chicago Police Board. The late attorney oversaw the hearing last year for four officers who were accused of covering up the 2014 murder of Laquan McDonald–one of the pivotal police slayings of innocent black men that led to the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

Johnson presided over some 350 police disciplinary cases over the course of nearly three decades on that oversight panel.

“Tom was an outstanding hearing officer and a wonderful man,” Police Board President Ghian Foreman said in a statement. “All of us on the board admired and respected Tom’s deep knowledge of the law and commitment to fairness. His work was of the highest caliber. Most importantly, he was in our eyes and by all accounts a thoughtful, kind, and caring man.”

Johnson was particularly active in local charities and served for several years, up until her death, on the board of the Hephzibah Children’s Association, a nonprofit focused on providing intensive therapeutic care for severely traumatized children.

[raisedbywolves]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...iku-story.html

Months after a husband and wife were found dead inside their Oak Park home, new details have become known about the slayings. Both spouses were prominent Chicago-area attorneys.

Autopsy reports recently released by the Cook County medical examiner’s office shed light on how the bodies were discovered and the extent of the stabbings. The killings have not yet been solved.

According to a police report included in the file, family members of Thomas E. Johnson, 69, and Leslie Ann Jones, 67, wanted to check on them after not hearing from the couple for about four days.

On April 13, the family members, who do not live in the area, asked Jones and Johnson’s 20-year-old godson, who does live in the area, to visit their home in the 500 block of Fair Oaks Avenue for a well-being check, the report said. The godson found the front door closed, but unlocked, and he went inside at about 7:30 p.m.

Just inside the front door, the godson discovered Jones' body lying on the stairs, while Johnson was found in an upstairs bedroom lying on a bed, the report said.

The detective did report the home did not appear to be ransacked, and said Johnson’s wallet was found on the bedroom floor with its contents scattered.

First responders also located the couple’s dog alive in the home, and paw prints from the dog and footprints from a person were “visible in the residence,” the report said.

The report states Johnson was stabbed multiple times in the head, neck and shoulder area, while Jones was stabbed multiple times in the head, chest, shoulder and arms. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death for both as “multiple sharp force injuries,” ruling both deaths homicides.