Prosecutors: Alphonso Hamilton shot, killed wife in Brickyard Mall parking lot after asking if she was seeing anybody
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man was ordered held without bond Friday in the murder of his estranged wife in the parking lot of a Target store at the Brickyard Mall.
Prosecutors said Alphonso Hamilton shot and killed his wife after asking her if she was seeing anyone else, and she replied that she was.
Alfonso Hamilton, 50, is charged with first-degree murder in the Wednesday morning shooting that killed his wife Jennifer Hamilton, 47, in the parking lot of the Target store at 6525 W. Diversey Ave.
In a proffer, the Cook County State's Attorney's office said Alphonso and Jennifer Hamilton were married, but in the process of separating. They had a prior domestic incident on April 3, but Jennifer Hamilton did not report the incident until April 16, prosecutors said.
On April 18, Jennifer Hamilton was granted an emergency order of protection against her husband, which was to be in place until May 9.
This past Wednesday morning, Jennifer Hamilton drove a white Jeep Cherokee to the parking lot of the Chicago home she and Alfonso Hamilton had shared, prosecutors said. At that time, she was Alfonso Hamilton drive into the parking lot too, prosecutors said.
Around 9:22 a.m., she was sitting in her car in the parking lot on a teleconference call with her doctor, prosecutors said. Jennifer Hamilton told her doctor she had a restraining order against her husband, and advised the doctor she did not know why he was there, prosecutors said.
Jennifer Hamilton told her doctor she was going to drive across the street to the parking lot for the Target store. The doctor stayed on the teleconference call with her, and at some point asked her if a 911 call was in order, prosecutors said.
Jennifer Hamilton told the doctor she was not very worried about her husband hurting her, but she did ask the doctor to stand by on the call, prosecutors said. The doctor requested that Jennifer Hamilton provide her address.
Meanwhile, video surveillance from the Target store parking lot showed that Alphonso Hamilton followed his wife into the Target store parking lot in his own car, and parked next to her. Jennifer Hamilton got out of her Jeep Cherokee and walked to the rear, telling the doctor on the conference call that she would be back shortly, prosecutors said.
Alphonso Hamilton then got out of his own car and approached his wife at the rear of the Jeep, prosecutors said. Through the video call, the doctor was able to see Jennifer Hamilton make a sudden movement at the rear of the Jeep, before coming back up to the driver's side door and getting back in the vehicle, prosecutors said.
At that point, Jennifer Hamilton did ask the doctor to call 911, prosecutors said. But Alphonso Hamilton came up to her, and after she attempted to move away from him, he shot her five times, prosecutors said.
Alphonso Hamilton got back in his car and drove away, prosecutors said. The doctor stayed on the teleconference call until police arrived.
Meanwhile, ShotSpotter alerted police to shots fired in the area, prosecutors said.
Jennifer Hamilton was shot five times in her head and died from, her wounds. Police investigators found five 9mm shell casings and five unfired 9mm bullets at the scene, prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, Alphonso Hamilton drove to the Schiller Park Police Department at 9526 Irving Park Rd. in west suburban Schiller Park. In the reception area, he told a dispatcher that heh had shot his wife, prosecutors said. He went on to make addition admissions on video, prosecutors said.
At the Schiller Park police station, Alphonso Hamilton said he had shot his wife in the parking lot of the Target Brickyard on Diversey Avenue, prosecutors said. He said he had asked his wife if she was seeing anyone else, and she said yes, so he shot her, prosecutors said. He said he had shot her five or six times.
Alphonso Hamilton said he then called his mother, who said he should turn himself in, prosecutors said. He told Schiller Park police his gun was in his car, and a Glock 9mm handgun was indeed recovered from the rear passenger side floorboard, prosecutors said.
The gun had no ammunition in it, but the shell casings found in the Brickyard parking lot were a match, prosecutors said.
Alphonso Hamilton was sentenced to three years in prison on a conviction for felony domestic assault in 2003. He was also sentenced to home confinement on domestic assault convictions in Missouri in 2001 and 2002.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) said this week that Jennifer Hamilton's murder didn't have to happen.
"It's tragic, because there were clues and hints that this violence was occurring, and people were quiet and silent on it, and I think that it's important that when these incidents occur, that people stand up, neighbors stand up. Call it out, so that way we don't find ourselves in a position where we have – in this case here – a woman that was shot and killed. This could have been prevented," Villegas said.
The alderman and other community leaders are urging others to speak up and reach out if they, too, are the victims of domestic violence.
"Domestic violence is something that's plaguing our city, plaguing our community, and we've been silent for way too long. And there's community members that know that incidents like these are occurring, and when they see something, they need to say something. There are resources that are out there," Villegas said.
