Lauren Pikor case: Man charged in murder has lengthy criminal history
TINELY PARK, Illinois - An hours-long SWAT standoff on Saturday ended with the arrest of a Tinley Park man wanted for homicide.
Police said 30-year-old Lauren Pikor was found with fatal cuts and stab wounds on the street near her home in the 5300 block of Diamond Drive in Oak Forest just after 10 p.m. Friday.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, neighbors in an otherwise quiet Tinley Park cul-de-sac described seeing an increasing police presence.
The Oak Forest Investigations Unit, Tinley Park Police and the South Suburban Emergency Response Team surrounded a home in the 18200 block of Glen Swilly Circle.
"My Ring doorbell went off at 3, there was a lot of vehicles up and down the block. I got up at 5 not knowing what was going on," said David Godin, who lives nearby.
Echoing through the neighborhood were calls from police, over a loudspeaker, asking 36-year-old Chad Oster to surrender.
Neighbors were asked to stay in their homes.
"[The officer] said, nope, you have to go in, it’s shelter-at-home," said David Godin, neighbor. "Don’t leave, couldn’t leave."
"I saw the Tinley Park police flashing car right here and two to three police officers just taking shelter behind the car, with handguns on," said Kamlesh Patel, neighbor.
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Police said Oster was armed and barricaded inside his home.
SWAT officers and crisis negotiators moved in.
"That guy was kind of locked into the cul-de-sac," said Patel.
Hours earlier, Oak Forest police responded to a ‘domestic disturbance’ where they discovered Pikor’s body.
"She’s in the prime of her lifetime and her life was cut short," said Andrew Holmes, crisis responder.
The single mom leaves behind a young daughter, according to a GoFundMe page set up by loved ones.
"The child’s life, the whole family’s life, because this mother has been taken, and as a child, growing up this child is going to be looking for his or her mother, that’s their best friend, this changes everything as far as growing up," said Holmes.
An investigation led police to Oster’s home in Tinley Park, where the lengthy standoff ensued, and executed a search warrant.
Around 4 p.m., a series of loud noises could be heard. Police say they set off a series of flash bangs and took Oster into custody shortly thereafter.
Oster was charged Monday with one count of first-degree murder.
Chad Oster | Oak Forest police
Oster has an arrest history dating back more than ten years, which includes domestic violence, battery, resisting a peace officer, an accident resulting in injury/death, aggravated assault, and attempted murder.
Records also show that he was sentenced to prison time in 2013 for charges of aggravated battery and failure to report an accident/death.
"It was shocking, nothing like this ever happens in nearby towns, so it is definitely concerning," said Patel.
The investigation remains ongoing.