Suspect Questioned In Murder Of Man Found In Northwest Side Basement
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Police were questioning a suspect Thursday morning in the murder of a Northwest Side man who was found beaten to death in his basement.
The body of Mike Justo, 56, was found around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday on the floor of his basement. He lived in the 5300 block of North Northwest Highway in the Gladstone Park neighborhood.
Neighbors say Justo was killed after someone broke into his home earlier in the day. After the burglary at noon Tuesday, police came to the house, took a report, and left.
Before he was killed Justo told his wife the he thought the burglar was a man he knew from the neighborhood, police said.
On Thursday morning, Grand Central Area police detectives were interviewing the man Justo fingered as the possible burglar, a police source said.
The suspect, who is in his 30s, allegedly made incriminating statements, according to the source.
Justo was laid off from a city job driving a truck at O'Hare International Airport, said his former wife, Nicole Justo. He previously worked for ComEd, she said.
Nicole Justo said she and her former husband had three children together. Michael Justo also had two step-children from his current marriage, she said.
"He always helped his older neighbors shovel their snow," Nicole Justo said, adding that he loved to go boating. "He had a good heart."
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
