April 28--A Lyons man accused of killing two neighbors Sunday at a senior apartment building because of a dispute over missing property was ordered held without bail Wednesday afternoon.
At a hearing at the Cook County courthouse in Bridgeview, prosecutors said John Arnold, 72, stabbed 73-year-old David Bosseler 15 times and a 61-year-old woman three times in their third-floor apartment inside the Riverwalk Senior Residences. The woman, who Lyons police on Tuesday had said was 51, has not been identified. Lyons police earlier had said Arnold was 67.
Assistant State's Attorney Kevin Pacini said Arnold admitted in a police interview that he entered the apartment and stabbed the occupants.
Authorities said Arnold, who also lived on the third floor, was upset because of a dispute over some missing property. Prosecutors did not specify what property was missing.
Pacini said surveillance video taken inside the building in the 8000 block of Ogden Avenue shows Arnold carrying a chair and briefcase about 7 a.m. as he walked to Bosseler's apartment. The video also shows Arnold sitting in the chair by the apartment door, the apartment's only entrance.
Prosecutors said the door opened about 7:50 a.m. and Arnold entered, thrusting the briefcase forward "in an aggressive manner," Pacini said.
Prosecutors said the video shows Arnold was inside the apartment for about five minutes and shows Arnold "placing the shoes inside the briefcase" as he left the apartment, prosecutors said. The shoes were later recovered from an apartment building trash bin, Pacini said.
Pacini said video shows no one else entering or leaving Bosseler's apartment after Arnold's visit.
Riverwalk is an independent-living facility, but does perform wellness checks of residents. It requires residents to check in every morning via an electronic button in their apartments. When Bosseler didn't check in Monday morning, staff visited the apartment and discovered the deaths, Pacini said.
Pacini noted that murder charges involving the death of two or more individuals is a mandatory no-bail.
Arnold, wearing a beige T-shirt, did not speak during the hearing before Judge Peter Felice.
Arnold's next hearing is scheduled for May 24.
Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter.
