A United Airlines pilot suspected of killing his former wife and dismembering her body was apprehended Wednesday night as he slept in a small office at a Grundy County airport, within sight of the private airplane he pirated 15 hours earlier to make his escape, officials said.
Mark Wilkinson of Hoffman Estates was apprehended about 10 p.m. by police after landing the plane in Grundy County, according to Hoffman Estates police and the Grundy County Sheriff`s Department.
Mark Wilkinson of Hoffman Estates was arrested at about 10 p.m. at Dwight Airport, just 80 miles southwest of Du Page County Airport, where Wilkinson stole a Cessna 150 early Wednesday, said Grundy County Sheriff Jim Olson.
Wilkinson was arrested without incident shortly after landing the plane, said Sgt. Ron Harper of the Hoffman Estates police. Police said that Wilkinson and the plane were to be returned to Hoffman Estates.
Authorities refused to give any other details of the arrest.
Wilkinson was unarmed and offered no resistance when he was awakened, Olson said.
Wilkinson was being held in the Grundy County Jail awaiting a hearing at 9:30 a.m. Thursday before a Circuit Court judge.
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”It will be a brief hearing to make a determination whether the person in custody is the person on whom the warrant was issued,” said Grundy County State`s Atty. Dave Neal. ”Once that is determined, he will be turned over to Cook County authorities.”
Wilkinson apparently drove to Du Page Airport at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, entered an aviation club where he had access to ignition keys, then took off in a Cessna 150 about 30 minutes later, police said.
The escape left investigators clutching at air.
Wilkinson, 36, is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of his 37-year-old former wife, Gilda, who was found dead Memorial Day on the garage floor of her home at 1670 Cape Breton Court, Hoffman Estates.
The woman was strangled Sunday night, said Dr. Robert Stein, Cook County medical examiner. Her legs were cut off below the kneecaps with a hacksaw, he said.
Police obtained an arrest warrant Tuesday afternoon for Wilkinson, but he apparently drove to the Du Page Airport at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, entered an aviation club where he had access to ignition keys and took off about 30 minutes later, police said.
His reported flight from Du Page Airport on Wednesday appeared to prevent a quick arrest.
Earlier authorities had speculated that Wilkinson had a full 1/2 hours of travel time before officials discovered he had stolen the Cessna, if he had taken off from Du Page Airport at 7 a.m., as a the national Air Traffic Controllers Association.
Wilkinson`s capture ended the daylong speculation of a spectacular escape.
The Cessna 150 has a maximum recommended cruising speed of 117 m.p.h. and a range of 400 to 560 miles, depending on the plane`s cargo, speed and the wind.
Sgt. Clint Herdegen of the Hoffman Estates police said police contacted small airports in all directions after Du Page Airport officials told them of finding Wilkinson`s car. But with 8,000 registered airports nationwide, locating the Cessna quickly could be a daunting task, officials said.
”It`s not unusual for someone to fly a stolen aircraft into a small airport, park it next to another plane, and fly out in another stolen aircraft,” said Jim Poole, local president of the national Air Traffic Controllers Association.
And if Wilkinson wanted to ditch the plane somewhere, he could have done it easily. The Cessna 150 is an easy-to-handle light plane used primarily to train beginning pilots. ”No problem at all,” Poole said. ”I`ve seen planes land safely in cornfields, in the street, wherever.”
The Cessna that police said Wilkinson used is white with a red stripe and has a registration number of N18225, Herdegen said. It had been listed as stolen.
Wilkinson is a member of the JCR Aviation Club from which the Cessna was stolen, said Herdegen and a spokesman for Du Page Airport. Members pay dues to belong to the club and to use the planes, hangars and runways, the airport spokesman said. As a member, Wilkinson had access to the club`s key box and thus to its planes, Herdegen said.
”But he didn`t have authorization to use the plane,” the sergeant added.
Many had speculated Wilkinson could have flown as far as Canada, as the Cessna 150 has a range of between 400 and 560 miles. Others said he simply could have had landed the white- and red-striped plane undetected at any of the hundreds of cornfield airports that dot the Midwest, making his escape to the south or west.
Instead Wilkinson landed at Dwight around 4 p.m., low on fuel and looking for a refill, officials said. But during a discussion with the owner of the airport, Wilkinson learned of a series of storms in the area and decided to wait them out, Olson said.
He bought a small amount of fuel and asked the airport owner for permission to sleep in an airport office, Olson said.
”While Wilkinson slept, the airport owner received a call from a friend, who described the plane that was used by an murder suspect,” Olson said.
The man compared the registration number of Wilkinson`s plane against the one provided by his friend. When they matched, he called police. Wilkinson was arrested by Olson and seven deputies a short time later.
The case began at about 11 a.m. Monday when police were called to the Hoffman Estates house by Elwood Wilkinson, Mark`s father, who had found Gilda Wilkinson`s body.
Elwood Wilkinson had gone to the house after getting a call from his son`s girlfriend, who was concerned when he failed to show up for an appointment that morning.
When police arrived, they found no signs of a struggle and no evidence of forced entry to the house, Lt. Robert Boynton said. They ruled out robbery as a motive and said they had no suspects in the case until Tuesday afternoon, when they obtained the arrest warrant for Wilkinson from Cook County Circuit Judge Janice Bierman.
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Wilkinson, who has worked for United since 1986, lived part time in the Hoffman Estates home with his former wife and 4-year-old daughter and part time with his girlfriend in Oak Forest. The Wilkinsons` daughter is staying with her grandparents.
Twice in just over a year, Hoffman Estates police were dispatched to the Wilkinson house on domestic dispute calls, said Sgt. Clint Herdegen. In one instance, Gilda Wilkinson was charged with domestic battery after she was accused of hitting her husband several times during a dispute, Herdegen said. Those charges were later dropped.
There was some speculation by police that Wilkinson, who has flying privileges on United flights that aren`t filled, had boarded a United plane out of Chicago. But United keeps track of passengers on every flight, even those permitted to fly in the cockpit as visitors, and the airline had no record of Wilkinson boarding a plane, a United spokesman said.