Chicagoist Weekend Blotter

By Shannon in News on Feb 18, 2007 10:56PM

Happy President's Day weekend! Take a load off and enjoy our usual madness:

• Three women were murdered in West Rogers Park following a domestic dispute. Karmin and Karolin Khooshabeh, stepsisters, were found bludgeoned to death with a hammer Saturday morning at 6459 N. Washtenaw. Karolin's 60-year-old mother also fell to the killer when she opened the door of her apartment at 2635 W. Arthur. The suspect in custody is Karmin's 56-year-old husband, who was found in the mother's apartment hitting himself in the head; authorities believe he may have been trying to kill himself as well.
• An Aurora man was sentenced to death Thursday for killing his 16-year-old stepdaughter. Laurence Lovejoy stabbed, poisoned, and drowned Erin Justice in March of 2004 in order to keep her from testifying that he had raped her 23 days prior. A heel print in blood found at the scene convinced the jury to convict Lovejoy last week. Due to Illinois' moratorium on the death penalty, however, Lovejoy has been placed on Death Row indefinitely.
• A major fire broke out at an Edgewater nursing home on Saturday. Sheridan Shores Care & Rehab, on the fifth floor of an eight-story building at 5838 N. Sheridan, called in a fire around noon; the fire was upgraded in status because of the possiblity of spreading to other residences. Two people were taken to Weiss Memorial Hospital in serious condition.
• Finally, a bizarre "he said, she said" case ended up with an Indiana couple arrested for battery against each other. Thirty-six-year-old Michael Banham, a former Calument High School principal, claimed his separated wife Nichole awoke him demanding money for bills, then punched him in the nose when he refused to pay. Nichole, 29, says he hid her car keys; upon waking him up while searching, he chased her to the stairs and tackled her. He then bashed his face with a TV tray to make it look like she'd assaulted him. Michael was previously charged in January for shooting at Nichole and trying to run her over. The couple also has a five-year-old daughter (joy); she's currently in protective custody.