Chicago Area Local News

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (CBS) ― A father, his daughter and a grandmother were killed and two others wounded during a stabbing inside a home in a quiet northwest suburban community Friday morning.

D'Andre Howard, 20, of Hoffman Estates, was charged with three counts of homicide, one count of attempted homicide and one count of unlawful restraint.

Hoffman Estates police received a call from a "distraught female" at 6:44 a.m. She said someone there had been stabbed inside a residence in the 1000 block of North Bluebonnet Lane, according to police Lt. Rich Russo.

When officers arrived, they found five people stabbed -- including two dead on the scene -- after an apparent fight. All five knew each other, Russo said.

Sources say there was a baby in the house who was not harmed. Sources also tell CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli that the fight may have been triggered by a boyfriend of one of the family members.

Witnesses who watched the young man being removed from the home by police say he was in much better shape than his alleged victims.

"He was the only one that didn't have oxygen. He was just strapped down to the stretcher, hollering," said neighbor Brad Irvin.

The victims were identified as Allen Engelhardt, 57; Marlene Gacek, 73; and Laura Engelhardt, 18. Allen Engelhardt was Laura's father. Marlene Gacek was Laura's grandmother.

Sources said Howard is the boyfriend of another family member, who was not injured.

"When police arrived we did find five stabbing victims," Russo said. "Two were confirmed dead at the scene. Three were various degrees of injury; they were transported to area hospitals. There were people in the home that were not injured."

The Cook County medical examiner's office confirmed Friday afternoon that Laura Engelhardt died at the hospital. She was a senior at Conant High School in advanced placement classes -- at the top 10 percent of her class.

The school posted the following statement on its Web site Friday: "Our hearts go out to those impacted by this tragic event. Conant High School and District 211 personnel will be doing all we can to assist students, staff, and community members during this time." 

"It's like losing a sister. I've known her for about 10 years," said family friend Demeion Collins. "It's literally like losing a sister, someone I love and care about."

Friday night, friends and loved ones gathered at the family's church to pray.

"It was really a shock," pastor Bill Cate said. "They try to prepare you for this sort of thing in seminary and get ready for this. But there's just nothing you can do to prepare yourself for this kind of news."

Police say Howard had fought with someone at the home just before the crimes. Neighbors wonder if that arguing could have started the night before at an apartment we're told Howard shared with one of the family's daughters.

The weapon was either a knife or sharp tool, according to Russo, who said it was not known whether weapons were recovered. Russo declined to say where in the ranch style home the victims were discovered, and said there were people still inside who were not stabbed.

No signs of forced entry were found and the incident was not a home invasion, he said.

"We have no idea what premeditated this or if it was premeditated,'' Russo said. Though he declined to say how long the victims were dead and injured, he said the incident occurred early Friday.

Guns were not found inside the home and police are "very confident" that the offender is among the survivors, Russo said. "There is no danger to the community."

"We don't have a killer on the loose, that type of thing," Russo said. "I don't know what happened in that house to make this explode like this."

The surviving victims were initially placed under police watch when they were taken to hospitals, because one was considered a suspect.

The home is in an older, quiet part of town, Russo said. Police remained on the scene collecting evidence and talking to neighbors Friday morning, according to the lieutenant.

"I'm really sad for that family. I mean, it definitely affects everybody in the neighborhood," neighbor Tom English said. "It's really quiet around here. We like that. To know that that happened is really… I don't even know what to think or what to say."

"It just hurts your heart, that's all I can say," Irvin said. "Our heart goes out to them. We are praying for their family and we love them very much… and we miss them."

Irvin and his wife, Gayle, live next door to the victims and say they were like family.

"I'm still in shock. I can't even cry," Gayle Irvin said.

A surviving stabbing victim, Laura Engelhardt's mother, was listed in critical condition.

The teen's brother was headed home from college Friday to help  members prepare to say goodbye to those they've lost.


CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli, the Associated Press and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

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