FILE 460 / 20 January 2024 / 70 MIN / express

A Russian Doll Of Murders

Arlington Heights, IllinoisListen

The town

N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

we are going to Arlington Heights, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago about 0:03:39

History, in brief

Town note

Through the 1830s the Potawai had camps in the Arlington Heights area, used for about six weeks a year between their summer and winter places.

about 0:05:06

1833

In 1833 the Potawai signed the 1833 Treaty of Chicago with the United States.

about 0:05:42

Town note

The treaty gave the United States control of all the land west of Lake Michigan and east of Lake Winnebago in exchange for another tract of land.

about 0:05:51
All 3 history facts

Town note

Through the 1830s the Potawai had camps in the Arlington Heights area, used for about six weeks a year between their summer and winter places.

about 0:05:06

1833

In 1833 the Potawai signed the 1833 Treaty of Chicago with the United States.

about 0:05:42

Town note

The treaty gave the United States control of all the land west of Lake Michigan and east of Lake Winnebago in exchange for another tract of land.

about 0:05:51

The figures, as told

Money

Median home value$363,900
Median household income$106,996
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2024

Population

"77,283"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:04:14

Median household income

"$106,996"

Comparison: "national average about $69,000". No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:04:24

Median home price

"$363,900"

No direction stated.

As told in 2024 about 0:04:28

The reviews

2.7 / 5 · average of 3

4 stars

“The most family friendly place on earth, filled with activities for people of all ages.”
about 0:07:12

“Wants fewer potholes, but otherwise the neighbourhood streets are quite nice and many people walk on a nice day.”
about 0:07:40

3 stars

“The reviewer says only that they do not know much about the place.”
about 0:08:33

1 star

“Very dull with crazy high property taxes, extremely unfriendly neighbours, no public transport and nothing for young adults to do.”
about 0:08:59

In Illinois

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  4. Murder Mansion MysteryLibertyville, Illinois · 27 June 202421 km / 13 miShow on map
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The story

Arlington Heights, Illinois, is a suburb about forty minutes outside Chicago with a population of 77,283. James opens with the town's history, its reviews and its Frontier Days festival before turning to a family that, as he puts it, was doomed. In 1988 sixteen-year-old Patricia Lauratus, known as Patty, was walking hand in hand with her nineteen-year-old boyfriend Robert Kosick along Gregory Avenue, on the edge of the Pastackey Highlands subdivision north of McHenry. Kosick jumped aside and heard the thud. She had served about thirty months.

Patty's cousin was Christin Marie Papelka, born on 3 January 1978. In 1999 she was living in her parents' house in Spring Grove, McHenry County. By 2000 she had moved in with her boyfriend Steve Hudson, twenty-six, at the Tanglewood Apartments in the 2100 block of South Gobert Road in Arlington Heights, close to her job as a cuser service representative at AJ Gerard in Des Plaines, where she had worked since March. Hudson was a delivery driver with a commercial licence.

On the morning of 28 September 2000 Hudson left about 7.30 for the Secretary of State's office in Elk Grove to renew his licence. Neighbours heard a loud argument and banging. At 10.30 he came back and found Christin beaten to death: seventy-five injuries, a crushed skull, blood everywhere. Long blond hairs were in both her hands and beside the body, along with a press-on fingernail, and bloody footprints smaller than Hudson's led out of the door. Eight thousand dollars in cash was missing. A week earlier Christin had reported her underwear stolen from the laundry room, and police were also looking for a man seen taking women's underwear there.

She had long blond hair and was missing two cosmetic nails on each hand, with a torn natural nail and open wounds on two fingers. She said she had hurt her hand in the garbage disposal. Detectives played her a surveillance tape that showed nothing and asked whether she would appear on it; she burst out that she had only been there to drop off Steve's clothes. Bloody shoe prints, blood in her flat and car and DNA on a tissue and on the nail tied her to the scene.

On 15 May 2006 a performance review cut his pay from $62,000 to $42,000 and removed his title. The next morning he took a kitchen knife from the office, hid it in his sleeve and stabbed Poter repeatedly; a colleague, Christopher Hoss, pulled him off, but Poter died.

The case

Killing of Patricia 'Patty' Lauratus

Victims

Patricia 'Patty' Lauratus (16). Born in 1972; walking with her boyfriend when she was struck by a car

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 20 January 2024.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Robert Kosick. Patty's boyfriend, 19, formerly engaged to

The timeline

  1. 1972 Patricia Lauratus is bornabout 0:13:10
  2. 1988 Patty, 16, and her 19-year-old boyfriend Robert Kosick walk hand in hand along Gregory Avenue (Gregory Avenue)about 0:13:35
  3. 1988 About two months before the killing Kosick breaks off his engagement to about 0:15:13
  4. 1988 drives calmly away and stops at four places looking for friends; police later find the car's right front fender dentedabout 0:22:15
  5. 1993 is retried, with evidence that Kosick and Patty had been drinkingabout 0:18:17

Murder of Christin Marie Papelka

Victims

Christin Marie Papelka (22). Daughter of the family, born January 3, 1978; cuser service representative at AJ Gerard in Des Plaines; Patty Lauratus's cousin

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 20 January 2024.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Kelly. Christin's older sister
Joe Papelka. Christin's uncle
Sue. Christin's aunt
Sergeant Joe Meachy. Illinois State Police sergeant who questioned
Barry Specter. defence attorney

The timeline

  1. January 3, 1978 Christin Marie Papelka is bornabout 0:24:17
  2. 1999 Christin is living in her parents' house in Spring Grove, McHenry County (Papelka family house)about 0:25:02
  3. 2000 She moves in with her boyfriend Steve Hudson at the 2100 block of South Gobert Road and takes a job at AJ Gerard in Des Plaines, where she has worked since March (Tanglewood Apartments)about 0:25:54
  4. August 2000 Hudson stops seeing and tells her it is overabout 0:27:25
  5. September 2000 Christin files a police report about her underwear being stolen from the laundry room (Tanglewood Apartments)about 0:36:13
  6. September 28, 2000 Hudson leaves about 7:30 a.m. for the Secretary of State's office in Elk Grove to renew his commercial driver's licence (Secretary of State's office, Elk Grove)about 0:31:20
  7. September 28, 2000 Neighbours hear a loud argument and banging; Christin is beaten to death in the apartment (Tanglewood Apartments)about 0:32:22

Murder of Gary Poter

Victims

Gary Poter. ex-husband boss and the owner of Poter Construction and Development

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 20 January 2024.

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Christopher Hoss. co-worker who pulled off the victim
Toby Sandier. co-worker who discussed the performance review with

The timeline

  1. 2006 , who has lived in the Chicago area for 25 years, works as chief estimator for Gary Poter (Poter Construction and Development)about 1:00:55
  2. May 15, 2006 A performance evaluation cuts his salary from $62,000 to $42,000 and takes away his title (Poter Construction and Development)about 1:02:43
  3. May 16, 2006 takes a knife from the office kitchen, hides it in his sleeve and stabs Poter in the chest and neck (Poter Construction and Development)about 1:05:35
  4. May 16, 2006 At the station he lunges for a detective's revolver and shouts that he wants to dieabout 1:03:33
  5. May 16, 2006 After about two and a half hours of questioning he admits stabbing Poter and says he was angry about the pay cut, blaming his ex-wife's influenceabout 1:05:25

Places and phrases

N ↑Public placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode