A former Chicago police officer has been charged with murder after his wife, also a retired CPD officer, was discovered fatally shot on Friday — her birthday — in their Spring Grove home, authorities said.
Spring Grove police were dispatched to the home of Elizabeth and Lorin Volberding around 1:30 p.m. Friday for a well-being check after a neighbor called 911, Police Chief Thomas Sanders said. Officers found the body of Elizabeth Volberding, 68, in the kitchen, where her husband was lying on the floor, apparently intoxicated, Sanders said.
Police arrested Lorin Volberding, 71, who is being held at McHenry County Jail on a $1 million bond, records show.
Authorities said Friday was the third time police had been called to the Volberding home for a domestic disturbance involving the couple, including one incident in which they urged Elizabeth Volberding to get a an order of protection.
"The whole thing is sad," Sanders said. "I don’t know what to say. It should’ve never happen."
In January 2015, Sanders said, Elizabeth Volberding called police late one night and reported that her husband had awoken her shouting, "Get out of the house. I’m going to kill you!" He barricaded them in the home and went into the basement, where the couple kept their guns, Sanders said.
Officers later found him lying on the floor in the basement and took him to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation. Elizabeth Volberding told officers her husband has recently been diagnosed with "acute dementia" and suffered from seizures, according to police.
The case was turned over to the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s office, though charges were never filed against Lorin Volberding, police said. His wife did file for an order of protection against him, court records show.
Following that police call, Spring Grove authorities petitioned Illinois State Police to revoke Lorin Volberding’s Firearm Owner’s Identification card. Local police said Lorin Volberding turned two long guns and a handgun over to a neighbor, who the same day transferred them to police.
The order of protection expired and, the following month, Elizabeth Volberding retrieved her husband’s guns as a valid FOID card holder.
Later that year, Lorin Volberding called police to report the couple had been drinking that and his wife was "verbally assaulting him," Sanders said. When officers arrived, Sanders said they found Lorin Volberding "yelling and swearing," while Elizabeth Volberding was silent. No arrests were made.
Her shooting death marks a tragic end to what her adult children described as a tumultuous marriage characterized by their stepfather’s controlling behavior and verbal abuse. Elizabeth Volberding’s daughter, Jennifer Tison, said she learned of her mother’s death when a local sheriff’s deputy showed up at her home in Rock County, Wis.
"At first I though it was something about my children, because both were out with their girlfriends," Tison said. "That’s always been my biggest fear. But when they told me about my mother, knowing the history of domestic violence, I wasn’t really surprised.
"We couldn’t get her away from him no matter what we tried or offered," Tison added.
The couple’s increasingly volatile relationship strained her connections to other family members, though her son Bryan Behles said he tried to stay in contact with her.
"I called her talked to her two or three months ago," Behles said. "I said, ‘I want you to know I love you and miss you guys. …’ She said, ‘I have to go cook breakfast for my husband now.’"
A graduate of Ridgewood High School in Norridge, Elizabeth Volberding later left a job at Illinois Bell to become a Chicago police officer in 1977, her family said.
For the majority of her career, she worked in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and later moved to the West Side Austin District before retiring in 2000.
tbriscoe@chicagotribune.com
rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com
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