View Larger Map of area of investigation near the Prospect Heights Public Library following the death of Gina Dominick.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 08 2008
HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION
Prospect Heights police have arrested Thomas Young of Prospect Heights and charged him with concealing a homicide in connection with the June 29 death of Gina Dominick after he turned himself in Monday at 10 a.m. Thomas Young, 21, of 103 Prospect Court in Prospect Heights arrested …
Gina Dominick, 20, of the 200 block of North Emerson Street in Mount Prospect was found dead in a car behind the Prospect Heights Public Library (12 North Elm Street) near Camp McDonald Road in Prospect Heights about 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
The Major Case Assistance Team is assisting Prospect Heights Police Department with the investigation and an autopsy is scheduled for today.
Police tape lined the perimeter of the library parking lot, and also as far south as Camp McDonald Road near a creek. The library opened on time at 10 a.m. on Monday. Gary Morava Recreation Center and baseball and softball diamonds are in the immediate area to the east. Members of a little league baseball team and a supervising adult were among people who found Gina Dominick unresponsive in the car. CPR was attempted after an individual gained access to the unlocked car.
UPDATE 10:30 pm: Preliminary autopsy observations noted lacerations and bruises on Gina Dominick’s body, according to a report from The Journal & Topics Newspapers (Prospect Heights Edition, July 2, 2008). The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office has been communicating with the police, who believe that a male was seen by witnesses driving her car earlier Sunday morning.
UPDATE JUL 01 2008 1:45 PM — The Prospect Heights Public Library does have outdoor security video cameras that were recently installed. There is reasonable assumption that a camera was fixed on the location where the car and body were found, but no information is known about the clarity of the video image. The police have not put out a public call for help in identifying a person in an image nor have they released any images. The police also have not released any official statement regarding a person of interest.
UPDATE JUL 01 2008 7:15 PM — No recent official statement from police regarding the investigation of the death of Gina Dominick since Sunday; however, according to friends and acquaintances of Gina Dominick, an adult male person of interest is in police custody. A large number of friends have been interviewed — many of the people interviewed were identified from pictures found on Gina’s digital camera or cell phone. All of those interviewed have been released, except for one person.
Apparently an adult involved with youth baseball at the park returned to his own car and found a car with Gina Dominick’s body sitting in the front passenger side unresponsive at about 10:30 a.m. The car with the victim was apparently not there when he first arrived to the parking lot in the morning. When the man attempted CPR, the victim’s jaw was stiffened — apparently from rigor mortis — and some possible injuries were observed on the body. Most likely the police and other investigators want to complete a thorough investigation with a solid case for arrest and conviction, if necessary, before they release an update to the public.
UPDATE JUL 02 2008 5:00 AM — Daily Herald is reporting (Girl found dead in Prospect Hts. sought ride after car was towed, 7/1/2008 7:11 PM | Updated: 7/2/2008 12:45 AM) that a friend of Gina Dominick, Jessica Schatz, received a cell phone call from Gina at 12:30 a.m. Sunday asking for a ride from a Schaumburg bar since her car was towed and her money was in her car. Schatz was without a car, but tried to arrange transportation. When Schatz called Dominick back, Gina said she was with a girlfriend, that she had a ride and was waiting for a guy to arrive from Chicago and take them to the auto pound. That was the last communication Jessica Schatz had with Gina Dominick.
Visitation: 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 2, 2008 at Lauterburg & Oehler Funeral Home, 2000 E. Northwest Hwy. in Arlington Heights.
Funeral: 9:15 a.m. Thursday, July 3, 2008 at the funeral home. At 10 a.m., a Mass will be held at St. Raymond de Penafort Church, 301 S. I-Oka in Mount Prospect.
Interment: All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines.
UPDATE JUL 02 2008 10:45 PM — Daily Herald is reporting (Police questioning person in Prospect Heights death, 7/2/2008 8:19 PM) that Prospect Heights police have served a search warrant on a house at 103 Prospect Court just north of the Prospect Heights Public Library [MAP/SAT].
UPDATE JUL 03 2008 3:45 AM — The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Prospect Heights Police Chief Bruce Morris stated that, “There is no person of interest and no one in custody.” The Chicago Tribune is also reporting that investigators “didn’t suspect foul play in Gina Dominick’s death and weren’t seeking anyone.” Also according to the Chicago Tribune report (Prospect Heights cops quiet on discovery of body, July 3, 2008), Prospect Heights Police Chief Bruce Morris said that Dominick was found in the passenger seat and appeared to have a black eye and nothing suspicious was found in the vehicle.
UPDATE JUL 08 2008 1:30 PM — The word on the street (unsubstantiated) is that the police do have a male adult in custody. However, the report that a search warrant was issued at 103 Prospect Court does not confirm that the “person of interest” is related to that search warrant. While a person of interest could be related to that address, it is possible that police wanted to obtain security video from that house, if it existed, and especially if a camera from that home security system (if it exists) was pointed at the Prospect Heights Public Library parking lot. The home is about 200 feet north of the Prospect Heights Public Library. Police did request security video from other home security systems in the area. Still no image has been released to the media. Compare this to the Chapel Hill, North Carolina Police Department that released an image from an ATM video camera immediately after the murder of University of Carolina student body president Eve Carson last March (Photo: Suspect in Eve Carson Murder Photographed While Using Eve’s ATM Card). Eve Carson was shot five times and two suspects have been arrested — Demario James Atwater, 22, and Lawrence Alvin Lovett Jr., 17. A confidential informant told police the two entered Carson’s home through an open door, took Eve Carson and her vehicle to an ATM, withdrew about $1400
and eventually shot her. Carson’s autopsy results remained sealed as of June 30, 2008 more than 90 days after the shooting occurred about 5:00 a.m. March 5, 2008 (Elon University Pendulum: Newly released warrants suggest more in murder of former UNC student body president, June 30, 2008).
UPDATE JUL 09 2008 2:00 PM — The Daily Herald (Police await toxicology report in Prospect Heights death, 7/9/2008 12:04 AM) is reporting that Prospect Heights Police Chief Bruce Morris said Tuesday that the Prospect Heights Police Department is waiting for toxicology results that could take up to six weeks for completion of tests in the investigation of the death of Gina Dominick.
Important links …
Legacy.com Guest Book for Gina Marie Dominick … (available online until July 2, 2009)
Death Notice/Obituary for Gina Marie Dominick (July 2 2008)
Daily Herald Obituary/Guest Book for Gina Marie Dominick (July 2 2008) (obsolete link)
Gina Dominick Facebook (obsolete link)
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Note: Newspaper articles mentioned are not linked because the newspapers are known to break these links after several weeks.