Country Club Hills police have a person of interest in custody after a 42-year-old woman was found beaten to death in the south suburb, authorities said today.
Mary Hayden, of the 4500 block of West 179th Street in the suburb, was pronounced dead at 8:21 a.m. Sunday at her home, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Her death was listed as a homicide after officials said she sustained head trauma in an assault.
The city’s public safety director, Bill Brown, said charges may be filed later today. Mayor Dwight Welch said the case is a “family issue” between a husband and a wife, but he declined to elaborate.
“It’s just a sad case. It’s a family issue,” said Welch. “We should leave them alone.”
Brown declined to give further details on what happened or how police became involved, saying he had been advised by the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force not to release any information. Brown said the victim’s two small children were involved in the incident but declined to say how.
Authorities are still trying to find somewhere for the two children to stay, he added.
“Because of the holiday season, it’s kind of challenging to find some people,” Brown said.
Police called the death an “isolated incident” and said the public had no reason to worry. Brown declined to say if police had visited the victim’s home in the past.