[IL] Chicago cop only suspended for holding gun to 1st wife's head to be tried for killing next wife, Irma Rodiriguez

Beautiful Irma Rodriguez

...Irma Rodriguez had more than a sneaking suspicion her husband might harm her, family members said. "She said if she disappeared, 'You know who did it. You know who to go after. It's Norberto,'" her sister Norma Tirado said...



Former Chicago police officer Norberto "Bert" Rodriguez is charged with first-degree murder and concealment of a homicide in the death of his estranged wife Irma Rodriguez. [Photo small on purpose.]

HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
...[Chicago Police Officer Norberto "Bert" Rodriguez] was suspended from his job as a police officer for 10 days in 1992 after pointing a gun at the head of his wife at the time, Maria... In 1997, Rodriguez was charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting Irma in the hand during an argument... A 911 phone call just before the shot was fired recorded Norberto Rodriguez saying, "You're dead," records show. He was acquitted, but the incident cost him his job on the Chicago police force... Irma Rodriguez supported her husband at the police review board hearing and said the shooting was an accident. In 2001, Irma Rodriguez claimed her husband threatened to "shoot me again "and dragged her out of the house and down the stairs by her legs," according to her petition for an order of protection. The order lasted three weeks...

IRMA RODRIGUEZ WAS LEAVING
After years of alleged abuse, Irma Rodriguez was planning to leave her husband after their son's eighth-grade graduation ceremony... Irma Rodriguez disappeared two nights before the June 2, 2009, ceremony... She and her husband, a former Chicago police officer, were going through a contentious divorce and were due for another court appearance on June 2... Prosecutors also alleged in court that bank records show that Irma Rodriguez had withdrawn the majority of the funds in the family bank account and that Norberto Rodriguez had learned of this withdrawal shortly before her murder...

THANK YOU TO ALL THE LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL WHO WORKED TOWARD FINDING THE TRUTH FOR IRMA, HER FAMILY, AND LEGAL JUSTICE:
...Oak Forest Police Chief Greg Anderson described the police investigation as "relentless"... State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said the 18-month investigation into the woman's slaying was a collaborative effort among her office, Oak Forest police, the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force and the U.S. Secret Service...

EX-CHICAGO POLICEMAN CHARGED IN ESTRANGED WIFE'S SLAYING: Couple were due in court day after her body was found in 2009
Chicago Tribune
By Kristen Schorsch
November 23, 2010
[Excerpts] During their 13-year marriage, a former Chicago police officer allegedly shot his wife, threatened to kill her and dragged her out of their home and down the stairs by her legs... But Irma Rodriguez, a south suburban Oak Forest mother of three, never followed through on the charges against her husband. She'd had enough, though, in 2007, when she filed for a divorce against Norberto Rodriguez, citing mental cruelty and irreconcilable differences. The couple were due in court the day after Irma Rodriguez's body was found... On Tuesday, nearly a year and a half after Irma Rodriguez's death, her husband was charged with her killing. Norberto "Bert" Rodriguez... The news was bittersweet for relatives of Irma... "I never had any doubt that this would happen," said a tearful Norma Tirado, Irma's sister. "We're happy, but we know there's a lot more that we're going to hear that's probably going to tear us apart." Tirado and her husband gained custody of Irma and Norberto's son Gabriel, 15. The Tirados have an order of protection against Norberto Rodriguez... "Gabriel is fearful because he believes that his father brutally murdered his mother"... It's not clear what led police to charge Norberto Rodriguez... [Full article here]

HUSBAND CHARGED IN OAK FOREST WOMAN'S MURDER
Southtown Star
By Michael Drakulich
November 23, 2010
[Excerpts] A first-degree murder charge was filed Tuesday against the husband of an Oak Forest woman... Norberto Rodriguez, 51, also was charged with concealment of a homicide in the murder of his estranged wife Irma Rodriguez... The charges end an 18-month investigation... Norberto Rodriguez, a former Chicago police officer, was arrested Monday by Oak Forest police at the request of the state's attorney's office... She and Norberto were days away from finalizing their divorce. The two had a tumultuous and sometimes violent 15-year marriage. In 1997, Norberto Rodriguez was charged with attempted first-degree murder after an argument in which he was accused of shooting Irma in the hand. He was acquitted of the charges but lost his police job in December 1998. In 2001, Irma filed an order of protection against her husband, saying he physically abused her during an altercation, and also sought protection for her daughter from a previous marriage and her son with Norberto. A judge granted the order, but Irma terminated it three weeks later... He later pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of heroin with intent to sell it and was sentenced to 52 months in federal prison. Irma's family said she kept the family together as best she could while Norberto was in prison and frequently visited him. When he was released in January 2007, family members said Norberto proclaimed himself a changed man. But soon afterward, he became violent again, they said, prompting Irma to file for divorce in September 2007. [Full article here]

MURDER CHARGES BRING RELIEF TO VICTIM'S FAMILY
Southtown Star
By Michael Drakulich
November 24, 2010
[Excerpts] Norma Tirado doesn't know what happened during the past six months that resulted in the Cook County state's attorney filing charges against a man suspected of killing her sister, Irma Rodriguez. Frankly, she doesn't care. Tirado and the rest of her family are just relieved police have someone in custody, she said. Irma's estranged husband... "There is always going to be a pain in your heart," Tirado said. "But we kept praying, and we knew that this was going to happen some day"... A mere six months ago, in June, Tirado met with prosecutors to check the progress on her sister's case. Prosecutors had been reviewing the case after receiving evidence collected by Oak Forest police. But on a scale of 1 to 10, they told Tirado the strength of the case at the time was a 2... Tirado said she was in tears after the meeting... But that changed on Monday, when the state's attorney's office informed Tirado that Norberto Rodriguez had been arrested, she said. Exactly what evidence led to him being charged was not disclosed to Tirado... [Of Irma's children] "They are relieved," Tirado said of Irma's children. "There have been some tears. Not of joy. Of relief. My mother is the happiest she's been in a long time"... Family members vowed to be in court if and when the case goes to trial. [Full article here]

EX-CHICAGO COP CHARGED IN ESTRANGED WIFE'S SLAYING
Chicago Breaking News
By Kristen Schorsch
November 23, 2010 8:19 PM
[Excerpts] ...Irma and Norberto's volatile relationship is detailed in police, court and prison records. In 1997, Norberto Rodriguez was charged with trying to kill his wife after allegedly shooting her in the hand over an argument about flowers he got from another woman for his birthday. A 911 phone call just before the shot was fired recorded Norberto Rodriguez saying, "You're dead," records show. He was acquitted, but the incident cost him his job on the Chicago police force, where he worked for about a decade. Irma Rodriguez supported her husband at the police review board hearing and said the shooting was an accident. In 2001, Irma Rodriguez claimed her husband threatened to "shoot me again "and dragged her out of the house and down the stairs by her legs," according to her petition for an order of protection. The order lasted three weeks. Relatives said Irma Rodriguez visited her husband and brought him home in 2007 from federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind. Norberto Rodriguez spent nearly three years behind bars after being convicted of transporting 4 kilograms of heroin from Los Angeles to Chicago. She filed for divorce the same year. [Full article here]

EX-COP ORDERED HELD ON $5M BAIL IN WIFE'S SLAYING
Chicago Breaking News
By Kristen Schorsch
November 24, 2010
[Excerpts] ...At his bond hearing this morning, prosecutors said the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force used his cell phone records to find his wife's body and car. And the week before she went missing and was found dead, she told her family, "If I show up missing, you know what to do," they said. An autopsy showed she died of multiple gun shot wounds... A bullet recovered from her body matched bullet fragments recovered from the garage of the couple's home and were fired from the same gun... [Full article here]



BAIL SET AT $5M FOR EX-COP ACCUSED OF KILLING WIFE
suntimes.com, SouthtownStar
By Michael Drakulich
November 25, 2010
[Excerpts]
Fifteen-year-old Gabriel Rodriguez stood in the lobby of the Markham courthouse Wednesday and told onlookers he hopes his former Chicago Police officer father is convicted of his mother's murder. "I miss her," Gabriel Rodriguez said of Irma Rodriguez, 45. "I think about her every day"... Days leading up to her disappearance, Irma Rodriguez withdrew $4,000 from the couple's bank account, planning to move out of their home right after Gabriel graduated from eighth grade... Circuit Court Judge Douglas J. Simpson ordered Norberto Rodriguez held in lieu of $5 million bail on first-degree murder and concealment of a homicide charges. "This is an extremely tragic case involving the senseless murder of a victim of domestic violence who was struggling to break away from a relationship with a violent man who had attacked her in the past," State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said. As the days counted down to the finalization of the couple's divorce in 2009, Irma Rodriguez had more than a sneaking suspicion her husband might harm her, family members said. "She said if she disappeared, 'You know who did it. You know who to go after. It's Norberto,'" her sister Norma Tirado said... [Full article here]

NORBERTO RODRIGUEZ, FORMER CHICAGO COP, HELD ON $5M BOND FOR WIFE'S MURDER
Sun-Times Media Wire
24 Nov 2010, 1:09 PM CST
[Excerpts] ...On Wednesday, Rodriguez was ordered held on $5 million bond and a preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 17 in Markham, state's attorney's office spokesman Andy Conklin said... Prosecutors said Irma Rodriguez disappeared from her home on May 32, 2009. Neighbors reported hearing "popping sounds" from the home the evening she disappeared, and told police the couple had argued repeatedly. Several calls to police for domestic violence complaints were made against Norberto Rodriguez, a release from the state's attorney's office said. Telephone records placed Irma Rodriguez at her home and Norberto Rodriguez near the home within the timeframe she was shot and killed in her garage, where bullet fragments and other forensic evidence was recovered... [Full article here]

EX-COP'S BAIL SET AT $5 MILLION IN '09 MURDER CASE: Victim was planning to leave husband after years of alleged abuse
Chicago Tribune
By Kristen Schorsch
November 24, 2010
After years of alleged abuse, Irma Rodriguez was planning to leave her husband after their son's eighth-grade graduation ceremony, a Cook County prosecutor said Wednesday ... But Irma Rodriguez disappeared two nights before the June 2, 2009, ceremony. Her body was found June 1 in the trunk of her car... She and her husband, a former Chicago police officer, were going through a contentious divorce and were due for another court appearance on June 2... At the brief court hearing, Norberto Rodriguez remained silent and glanced at about a dozen of his wife's relatives and friends. Irma and Norberto's son, Gabriel, 15, was in the front row. "I always pray that he will be convicted," Gabriel Rodriguez said after the hearing. Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez thanked Irma Rodriguez's relatives for their patience... [Full article here]

COOK COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY ANNOUNCES CHARGES IN 2009 MURDER OF OAK FOREST WOMAN
eNews Park Forest
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
[Excerpts] ..."This is an extremely tragic case involving the senseless murder of a victim of domestic violence who was struggling to break away from a relationship with a violent man who had attacked her in the past," said [Cook County State's Attorney Anita] Alvarez. "For all of its tragedy, the charges in this case would not have come about without the dedication of Oak Forest police and all of the investigators who never gave up in seeking justice for Irma Rodriguez." Oak Forest Police Chief Gregory Anderson said his department and the community as a whole was significantly affected by the death of Irma Rodriguez and has been deeply committed to the ongoing investigation. "The Oak Forest Police Department and law enforcement as a whole is motivated to protect victims and prosecute offenders of domestic violence whenever possible. As in this case, it is up to us to speak for victims that are unable to speak for themselves," Anderson said. According to prosecutors, Irma Rodriguez disappeared from the Oak Forest residence that she shared with Norberto Rodriguez, Norberto's mother who suffered from dementia, and two of her children in the evening hours of May 31, 2009... According to prosecutors, there were no signs of forced entry or property missing from the Rodriguez residence... In addition, neighbors also reported and police reports confirm that the couple had argued repeatedly and that there had been numerous calls to police by Irma Rodriguez for domestic violence complaints against the defendant... Prosecutors also alleged in court that bank records show that Irma Rodriguez had withdrawn the majority of the funds in the family bank account and that Norberto Rodriguez had learned of this withdrawal shortly before her murder... [Full article here]

PROSECUTORS: EX-COP KILLED WIFE AS SHE PLANNED TO LEAVE HIM
Chicago Tribune
Kristen Schorsch kschorsch@tribune.com
November 24, 2010 6:39 PM
[Excerpts] After years of alleged abuse, Irma Rodriguez was planning to leave her estranged husband after their son's eighth grade graduation ceremony. Days before, she withdrew $4,000 from the family bank account, leaving only $800 for her estranged husband, Norberto "Bert" Rodriguez, Tom Driscoll, an assistant Cook County state's attorney, said in court this morning. Irma Rodriguez's estranged husband would have learned about the withdrawal on May 31, Driscoll said. She disappeared that night... The week before she disappeared and was found dead, she told her family, "If I show up missing, you know what to do"... At a brief court hearing this morning, Norberto Rodriguez remained silent with his hands behind his back. He glanced at his wife's relatives and friends, who filled nearly four pews in the courtroom, after a judge set bail. "I'd just like to thank the police ... for arresting him and hopefully that he's convicted and to move on cause this is really horrible," Gabriel Rodriguez, 15, the Rodriguez's son, said after the hearing. "I miss her," he said of his mother. "I think about her every day, and I always pray that he will be convicted." His sister, Monica Medina, 18, said she was thankful for the charges against her stepfather, but added, "I don't want to get my hopes up until he's behind bars." Irma Rodriguez's son, Martin Medina, Jr., 26, said he was happy the murder might finally be solved. "I'm just overwhelmed," he said. "I'm happy for (Irma) of course." Alvarez thanked Irma Rodriguez's family for their patience. "This is a very tragic case involving the senseless murder of a victim of a domestic violence who was struggling to break away from a relationship that was violent," Alvarez said. "Sadly the disappearance of Irma Rodriguez and the terror of her murder was felt first by her children, who notified police after becoming concerned that their mother was missing from their home and not responding to their cell phone." Waiting for physical evidence to be analyzed contributed to the investigation taking more than a year, Alvarez said. Oak Forest police chief Greg Anderson described the police investigation as "relentless." He said police received results as recently as last week from evidence tested at the state crime lab, adding that police have made several trips back and forth to the crime lab to have evidence tested... Norberto Rodriguez is on parole for his federal conviction, Driscoll said. He added that in 1992, Norberto Rodriguez was suspended from the Chicago police department for 10 days after placing a gun to his first wife's head. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, but the case was dismissed, Driscoll said. [Full article here]

15 year old Gabriel, of his mother Irma Rodriguez "I miss her."

BOND SET FOR EX-COP IN WIFE'S MURDER
abclocal.go.com
Stacey Baca
November 24, 2010
[Excerpts] ...[Of domestic violence, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez] says it's not a private issue or a shameful issue; it's a community issue that we must all be aware of, an issue, prosecutors say, Irma Rodriguez lived with for several years. Just 15 years old, Gabriel Rodriguez vows to move forward, even though his father, Norberto Rodriguez, is being held on a $5 million bond and is accused of killing his mother. "I just don't know how, but I will move on towards my mom and try to feel better and try to get better," said Gabriel. "But there is no sense of healing towards my father." "It is bittersweet knowing that he'll be spending his Thanksgiving in jail, but we'll be missing Irma for Thanksgiving as well," said Norma Tirado, victim's sister... "Why would you do it? I really do want to know, and I'll probably never get to know," said Martin Medina, victim's son... "I miss my mother so much," said Gabriel. "It's complete shock. And I'm just grateful he's put behind bars and we have a sense that we're all safe." ... "It's sad that it had to be like this. We're all going to cope and get through it together. That's what we do," said Monica Medina, victim's daughter... [Full article here]

OAK FOREST WOMAN SHOT IN HER OWN GARAGE, PROSECUTOR SAYS
Southtown Star
By Michael Drakulich
November 25, 2010
[Excerpts] Fifteen-year-old Gabriel Rodriguez walked up to a podium in the lobby of a courthouse Wednesday, looking a little unsure of himself, after attending the bail hearing for the man accused of killing his mother last year in Oak Forest. In a barely audible voice, Gabriel thanked police for their hard work and told the onlookers he hopes the man charged - his father, former Chicago police officer Norberto Rodriguez - is convicted. "I miss her," Gabriel Rodriguez said of his mother at the news conference. "I think about her every day"... State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said the 18-month investigation into the woman's slaying was a collaborative effort among her office, Oak Forest police, the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force and the U.S. Secret Service ... He had a history of violent behavior. Assistant State's Attorney Tom Driscoll said Norberto was suspended from his job as a police officer for 10 days in 1992 after pointing a gun at the head of his wife at the time, Maria Ojeda. The couple were going through a divorce, Driscoll said. In 1997, Rodriguez was charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting Irma in the hand during an argument. He later was acquitted but lost his job as a Chicago cop as a result ... Greg Anderson, who took over as Oak Forest police chief last January, said it took 18 months to bring charges in the case because his department wanted to be thorough and correct. Oak Forest police worked with 20 to 30 officers from the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force during the course of the investigation ... Gabriel and Monica Medina, who was Irma's daughter from a previous marriage, came home about 8:30 p.m. May 31, 2009. Their mother was not home and was not answering her phone. Norberto was not home, either. Norberto's mother, who suffers from a brain injury and dementia, had been left home alone. Food had been left on the stove, and Irma had left the house without her sandals and her purse, which her children found unusual, Driscoll said. Norberto came home at 9:15 p.m., saying he'd gone for a walk in the neighborhood. After checking with friends and family members, Irma's children called police and reported her missing about 10:20 p.m... Investigators recovered bullet fragments... police also recovered from the home several speed loaders used to load a revolver. However, he said the murder weapon has not been recovered... Anderson thinks it will take about two years to set a trial date. [Full article here]


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