Saturday, November 26, 2011

Chicago, IL: Woman killed at UIC hospital parking garage

Family blames estranged husband — 'We just can't get over it'

By Dawn Rhodes and Peter Nickeas, Chicago Tribune reporters
November 26, 2011

Before going to work Thursday afternoon, Angela Bonds stopped by her parents' South Shore home to pick up some Thanksgiving dinner, and she planned to return Friday for a second helping, according to her family.

But Bonds, 48, was shot dead just before midnight Thursday in a University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center parking garage toward the end of her late-night shift. Hours later, UIC police arrested a 47-year-old man blocks from the scene of the shooting. Police initially said the suspect was Bonds' former boyfriend but her family identified him as her estranged husband, whom she was divorcing.

"We treated him like family," said Reginald Bonds, Angela Bonds' brother. "It's devastating. We just can't get over it."


The hospital complex was locked down for about five hours as police SWAT team members combed the area for the suspect.

About 6:30 a.m., a UIC police officer made a traffic stop at 14th Street and South Damen Avenue and recognized the driver as the man police were seeking, said hospital spokesman Mark Rosati. The man fled on foot and the officer caught him at 13th Street and South Hoyne Avenue. A handgun was recovered nearby, according to Rosati.

Reginald Bonds said his sister and her husband had been separated for years but the man continued to join the family for dinners and holidays. They also worked together in the housekeeping department at the UIC Medical Center, as did Bonds' fiance, he said.

"She was fun-loving; she'd give you anything," Bonds said. "She was just a beautiful person, and (her) life was just taken away."

According to court records, the suspect, who has not been charged, has a minor criminal record, pleading guilty to reckless conduct and weapons charges in 2008 and to possession of cannabis, speeding and DUI in July 2010.

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