A twice-convicted murderer is again behind bars after he allegedly killed his wife not long after he was released from prison custody, authorities in Illinois said.
Police in the village of South Holland, a suburb of Chicago, say 50-year-old Joseph Wingard shot his wife Loné P. Williams, 60, several times at their home on June 22 and fled the scene. He had been on the run ever since before turning himself in to police on Saturday night, according to local ABC affiliate WLS.
In January, Wingard was released from custody after serving decades for the 1991 murders of April Fields, 22, and Shedrene D. Handy, 20, the Illinois Department of Corrections told Law&Crime. Then 17, he killed Fields, his girlfriend’s best friend, because she was meddling in their relationship, the Chicago Tribune reported at the time. Wingard lured Fields out of her apartment under the guise that his girlfriend wanted to talk following an argument and he shot her in the back of the head after she walked out the door, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported. Handy happened to be in the apartment, so he shot Handy through the eye, prosecutors said. Fields was seven months pregnant, Handy was two months.
He was convicted in 1994 of the murders of Fields and Handy, and the intentional death of Fields’ baby, but not Handy’s. Now nearly 30 years later, he’s again facing a first-degree murder charge.
Joseph Wingard, inset, is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of his wife Loné P. Williams at a South Holland, Illinois, home. Williams’ daughter Loné M. Williams spoke at a press conference a few days after her mother’s death. (Mug shot: Illinois Department of Corrections; Screengrab: WMAQ-TV/YouTube)
Per the Daily Southtown newspaper, a family member found Williams suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in the abdomen. She was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. A few days after Williams’ killing, her family and community activists held a press conference asking the public about Wingard’s whereabouts. They were offering a $5,000 reward leading to an arrest.
“This is an individual who should not have been back, released to the public,” said activist Early Walker.
Her daughter, Loné M. Williams, had a message for Wingard.
“It breaks my heart because you do this to my mom and she cared a lot about your family and you do that to my mom,” she said, according to the Daily Southtown newspaper.
Family members said they had a “bad vibe” from Wingard, who rarely associated with them. They feared he may have been taking advantage of her financial situation after she won a recent lawsuit settlement.
“When you deal with monsters, such as this guy, that happens,” said her cousin, the Rev. D’Arcy Kent.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
