Crime & Safety

Oak Lawn Death Investigation Declared 'Murder-Suicide'

Police: Son slashed mother's throat and shot her, then turned gun on self.

The cause of death of an elderly woman and her son discovered early Wednesday morning in the 4600 block of West 99th Place has been declared a “murder-suicide.”

Oak Lawn police of Lorraine Savage, 73, and her son, Steven Adams, 40, during a well-being check around 5:22 a.m. Both bodies were in an advanced stage of decomposition. A neighbor had called police when he hadn’t seen Savage in more than a week.

According to an Oak Lawn police news release, Dr. Segovia of the medical examiner’s office reported that Savage had suffered defensive knife wounds on her hands. Savage died as a result of her throat being cut. She also suffered a non-fatal gunshot wound in the head.

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Savage’s son, Steven, of the 3300 block of West 62nd Place in Chicago, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his chest. Police found a .380 semi-automatic handgun and at 12-inch kitchen knife in Savage’s kitchen. Police said Adams used both to kill his mother.

Police said it has been reported to them that Adams suffered from mental health issues, which may have played a factor in the murder-suicide.

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The neighbor who called village police early Wednesday and requested the well-being check, told Patch that he had only met Adams once. Adams came out of the house briefly during a block party last summer and had asked his neighbors if they were having a party. He then went back inside his mother’s house, the neighbor said.

Based on the autopsies conducted by the medical examiner’s office Thursday morning, Oak Lawn police are classifying the deaths as a murder-suicide.


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