Posted by Bud on September 30, 2010 at 22:04:52:
Husband charged in murder of mom of sports reporter, ex-NU QB
September 30, 2010
Southtown Star, Sun-Times Media
Allan Kustok — the father of Comcast SportsNet reporter Sarah Kustok and former Northwestern star quarterback Zak Kustok — has been charged with murdering his wife, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office said.
A relative brought Anita "Jeanie" Kustok, 58, of Orland Park, to a hospital with a single gunshot wound to her head, police said.
Orland Park Police Cmdr. John Keating said police received a call from Palos Community Hospital about 7 a.m. about a woman who was brought to the hospital by a family member who had suffered a gunshot wound to her head.
Sources said Allan Kustok, 59, a former star football player at Mendel high school and the University of Illinois, claimed his wife’s gunshot wound was self-inflicted.
He allegedly told investigators he woke up Wednesday morning when he heard a gunshot go off. He said he gave his wife the gun to celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary earlier this summer, sources said.
Grief-stricken, he cleaned his wife’s face, tidied the room in the family’s Orland Park home and carried her from the couple’s bed to his car, sources said he told investigators.
She was “a proud woman” — too proud for ambulances, he allegedly told authorities. He didn’t bring his wife’s body to the hospital until 90 minutes after she was shot, sources said.
But investigators didn’t believe his story. He was charged with first-degree murder, Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office, said Thursday afternoon. He has a bond hearing Friday.
Her death had earlier been ruled a homicide after an autopsy by the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
A source said she had been shot in the left side of her face but was right-handed.
Another source said investigators on the scene found a bullet-riddled armoire in the couple’s bedroom.
Allan Kustok was captain of the Mendel high school football team when it won the Prep Bowl in 1968. He was a letter winner on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign football team in 1972 and 1973. He played offensive tackle.
His wife taught at Central Elementary School in Riverside.
She was adored by her students, co-workers said.
“She is a beautiful person with a beautiful heart,’’ said Dr. Janice Limperis, the school’s principal. “If anyone had a problem, she would find a positive way to look at it. We are devastated here. Her students are inconsolable. It’s like losing a family member.”
Limperis described Kustok as “vivacious’’ and “outgoing’’ and said she had been with the school district for seven years.
This was Kustok’s first year at Central and she taught math and reading to third- through fifth-grades students in a gifted program called “Quest,’’ Limperis said. Kustok previously taught at the district’s Hollywood School, Limperis said. She worked as a substitute teacher in Orland School District 135 between September 2003 and September 2004.
Sarah and Zak Kustok were both star athletes at Sandburg High School. Sarah played basketball at DePaul University, and Zak played quarterback for Northwestern University. He later played briefly in the NFL, which included a stint with the Chicago Bears.
Sarah was the Sun-Times high school girls basketball player of the year in 2000. She was a member of a state champion girls volleyball team in 1999.
Mike Navarro, a retired Sandburg teacher and former football coach, played football with Allan Kustok at U. of I. and was Zak Kustok’s head coach in his junior and senior years at Sandburg. Kustok spent his first two high school years at Lincoln-Way High School before transferring to Sandburg.
Anita Kustok “was the sweetest person you’d ever want to meet. She was a tremendous lady, a great mother of two of the nicest kids you’d ever want to meet,’’ Navarro said.
“. . . This is such a shock.”