Person Of Interest In Custody In Slaying Of Mokena Bartender
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A person was in custody Friday morning in connection with the slaying of a Mokena woman found shot and killed inside her car nearly three days after she went missing.
Kaitlyn Kearns, 24, was last seen alive around 1:30 a.m. Monday, while leaving her job tending bar at Woody's Bar in Joliet. She was reported missing the next day.
Her body was found late Wednesday night in rural Kankakee County. Police said she was found inside her 1996 Jeep Cherokee, and had suffered a single gunshot wound to the head.
Friday morning, the Will County Sheriff's Office said a "person of interest" was in custody, but had hired an attorney, and was not talking to investigators.
"We are continuing our investigation by gathering additional evidence," spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said.
Hours after finding Kearns' body, Will County Sheriff's officers executed a search warrant at the Outlaws motorcycle club in Joliet. Officials said Kearns told people she was going to the club after leaving work at Woody's. The club is less than a mile from Woody's.
"Detectives believe that there is no threat to the community and that Kaitlyn was the intended target of this homicide," the sheriff's office said in a written statement.
The Will County Sheriff's office asked anyone with information on Kearns' death to call detectives at 815-727-8574. An anonymous tip also can be sent to crimestoppersofwillcounty.org