By JIM SUHR, Associated Press Writer
BELLEVILLE, Ill.- A man suspected of killing his estranged wife’s parents holed up in an acquaintance’s home, shot and critically wounded a police officer, and then committed suicide, police said.
Larry J. Sicka, 47, apparently killed himself several hours before SWAT team members entered the house Friday evening and found his body, said Rick Weissenborn, deputy commander of an Illinois State Police squad.
“We did everything that we could to get the suspect to come out peacefully; apparently he took a different route,” Weissenborn said. “It’s a sad ending.”
Officers arrived at the home Friday in search of Sicka, who was wanted in the Thursday killings of Henry Kahle, 79, and Dolores Kahle, 69, the parents of his estranged wife, Robin Sicka, police said.
Belleville Police Sgt. Jon Brough was shot as officers tried to search the home, Weissenborn said.
Brough was in critical condition Saturday at St. Louis University Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The SWAT team spent about a half-hour Friday evening in front of the house in an armored vehicle, trying to negotiate through a loudspeaker. The vehicle pulled back from the house after getting no response.
“There was a lot of rambling” from Sicka during earlier negotiations, Weissenborn said.
“Nothing made much sense; there was a lot of anger voiced toward police,” he said.
No one else was found in the house, which belonged to an acquaintance of Sicka, Weissenborn said.
Robin Sicka had obtained an emergency order of protection against her husband and had reportedly fled to Kansas City, Mo., said Charles Stegmeyer, Sicka’s attorney and friend.
A phone message left Saturday morning for a Robin Sicka in Kansas City was not immediately returned.