Husband, wife — both officers — dead in murder-suicide: police

Chicago Sun-times — The Rev. Edward Cronin said he had counseled Javier and Veronica Acevedo to endure with prayer the “violence of the world” that confronted them every day in their law-enforcement careers.

Javier Acevedo served 25 years as a Cook County Sheriff’s correctional officer, and Veronica Acevedo served 18 years with the Chicago Police Department, authorities said.

But early Sunday morning, the couple were found dead in their Garfield Ridge home on the Southwest Side in what police said appeared to be a murder-suicide. The correctional officer apparently shot his wife before shooting himself, Cook County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Cara Smith said.

Neighbors awoke to the sight of police cars and crime-scene tape on a block dressed up for Easter with purple ribbons tied to trees.

Worshippers at Cronin’s St. Jane De Chantal Parish at 53rd and Austin, half a block north of the couple’s home, passed near the scene while hymns hovered in the air and church bells pealed.

Cronin said he got to know the Acevedos during the last couple of years as they attended the church. He also said he offered prayer counseling. Like most police officers, he said, the couple struggled with the violence they faced at work. continue reading...