Police looking for suspect in beating death of suburban business owner
Image released by the Will County sheriff’s office of a man suspected of beating a business owner June 12, 2020, in New Lenox. | Will County sheriff’s office
NEW LENOX - Police are asking the community for help identifying a suspect in connection with the beating death of a business owner in suburban New Lenox.
The man, described as having a large beard, is considered a suspect in the attack of Wayne Deutsch, 39, the Will County sheriff’s office said in a statement.
On June 12, Deutsch, owner of Shades of Darkness Window Tinting at 13957 W. Illinois Highway, told deputies that the man had come into the store asking for a refund on a previous tinting job, the sheriff’s office said.
The pair exchanged words and the man left the store only to come back moments later and start a physical altercation with Deutsch, the sheriff’s office said. The man beat Deutsch as he fell to the floor and he drove off in a dark-colored Chrysler 300 with tinted windows.
Deutsch, of Orland Park, refused medical treatment at the scene and didn’t identify the suspect to detectives who spoke to him after the attack, the sheriff’s office said.
His injuries worsened and he was hospitalized on June 14, the sheriff’s office said. He died at Palos Community Hospital on June 17.
An autopsy found he died of an accumulation of blood in his chest caused by broken ribs from an assault, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. His death was ruled a homicide.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Will County sheriff’s office at 815-727-8574.