Body Found In Ind., Raising Question: Is It Missing Calumet City Woman?
(CBS) – The discovery of a body in rural Lake County, Ind. on Sunday prompted investigators there to wonder whether it could be that of missing Calumet City woman Gena Chiodo, whose boyfriend has been charged with her murder.
Calumet City police in October found a great deal of blood and evidence at the Price Avenue home Chiodo shared with Donol Clark -- but no body. Clark was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and concealment of a homicide.
The body found Sunday was in a wooded area near Routes 41 and 2 and was wrapped in a sheet or comforter, police said. Lake County authorities reached out to Calumet City police because they were familiar with the high-profile Chiodo case, Calumet City Assistant Police Chief Dan Zorzi told CBS 2.
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The body -- discovered by hunters around 2 p.m. -- was expected to be transported to the Lake County Coroner's Office. Dental records will be used to confirm whether it is Chiodo, Zorzi said.
Calumet City Police Chief Edward Gilmore stressed Sunday evening it was too early to draw conclusions. An autopsy would likely be performed Monday, he said.
"In this case, patience is what is needed here," he told CBS 2's Mai Martinez. "Time will tell if the autopsy is completed as to which way the investigation will go. It may be totally unrelated to Calumet City and our missing person."
Calumet City police went to Chiodo's home in October after her co-workers and friends reported the 42-year-old cosmetologist had not shown up to work for days. Finding blood stains in multiple places, they immediately took Clark, also 42, into custody.
Clark has previously been convicted of two armed robberies and residential burglary and has a 2011 domestic battery conviction for punching a former girlfriend in the face, prosecutors have said.
Calumet City police for weeks have been following up on periodic tips about the whereabouts of Chiodo's body, Zorzi said.
"Obviously, we've been hoping all along for the family's sake that we could find Gena and put some closure on it for them," he said.
