Jul 10, 2008 6:30 pm US/Central
No Bond For Suburban Man Accused Of Killing Wife
Family Of Adelina Weber Sues City Of Waukegan, Says Police Didn't Protect Her
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CBS) ―
Relatives of a stabbing victim are taking action with an unusual civil lawsuit from a family that wants to hold a city and officers partly accountable for their loved one's murder.
The man who stands accused was ordered held without bond today.
As CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports, the victim's relatives hope to prevent future pain.
"She was such an innocent, sweet person," said Cynthia Trujillo, sister-in-law. "We can't believe she's gone."
Adelina Weber, 34, died July 5th from a stab wound. Police say her estranged husband Clarence John Weber Jr., 58, killed her.
"And her death was so violent and unnecessary," Trujillo said.
They also believe it was preventable. So now, family members are suing the city of Waukegan and its police chief for not acting on her behalf.
Court documents show Adelina Weber had filed for divorce from her husband June 30. She had been staying at her brother's home, according to her family and attorney. She obtained a court order of protection against her husband May 5.
"They showed a conscious disregard for Adelina's safety when they failed to take any action," said Attorney John Karnezis.
The suit says a day after getting the order of protection she went back into the home she left in fear, with Waukegan officers, to pick up belongings.
"They saw on a wall scribbled in red crayon, a threat to Adelina," Karnezis said.
Karnezis says the note read in part, "Now everything is going to end. But this time I'm going to keep the kids out of this."
He alleges a fire destroyed the couple's home the next day and Weber stalked his wife.
He also says Adelina's sister asked police: "'What are you going to do?'"
"And they said, 'Don't worry. He's drunk,'" Karnezis said. "Then they looked at their watches and said, 'We need to get out of here.'"
"Orders of protection prohibit the threat of bodily harm," Karnezis said. "There was a threat of bodily harm on the wall. They took no action."
Weeks later, Adelina was dead.
Weber is charged with stabbing and killing his wife over the weekend. She collapsed and died in the lobby of the Springhill Suites Marriott hotel in Lincolnshire.
On Saturday, Adelina Weber had just finished waiting tables at the Walker Bros. Pancake House in Lincolnshire when she was attacked.
She made it into the lobby of the hotel, where she collapsed. Hotel workers called 911 and provided first aid, said hotel general manager Mike Croke.
An intense manhunt for Clarence Weber began. He was finally found in Lowell, Ind., shortly after police found his rented car at the Flying J Truck Stop in Crown Point and spotted him on surveillance video.
Weber was found walking along a road Tuesday morning and apprehended. Police said Weber intended to walk all the way back to his home in Waukegan. He was held in jail in Lake County, Ind., until being returned to Illinois on Wednesday.
"Her children have to live the rest of their lives without her," Trujillo said.
In a statement, Police Chief William Biang acknowledged the tragic circumstances saying, "Our sympathy goes out to Adelina's family."
But that same statement said it was too soon to comment on the allegations in the civil lawsuit. The suit names the chief because he was the one in command at the time.
Clarence Weber, who's charged with murder and who's also named in the civil suit, was convicted of attempting to murder a prior wife years ago in Florida.
The family attorney says Adelina didn't know about that. Police haven't said if they did.
Weber's bond was denied Thursday in Lake County, Ill., Criminal Court. He will return to court on July 29.
CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman, the Associated Press and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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