Police are questioning a suspect in the case of an Indiana businesswoman who was kidnapped and found shot to death in a Gary casino’s parking lot a month ago.Mary C. Austgen, 76, was taken at gunpoint from her family business, Austgen Electric Inc. in Griffith around 5:40 p.m. on March 28, according to police.
Workers for the Majestic Star Casino found Austgen dead in her GMC Yukon Denali early March 29 in a parking garage, police said. The casino is almost directly north on U.S. Highway 12 from the Austgen business in Griffith.
On Tuesday, police executed a search warrant at a home in the 12200 block of Lawndale Avenue in Alsip about 5:30 p.m., according to Alsip police. Residents told WGN-TV that police took a man away in handcuffs. On Wednesday, police said they were still looking for another person believed tied to the slaying.
“We received a tip, followed it up and that’s how we got to this point,” Griffith Police Detective Lieutenant Matt Argadine told the station.
On Monday, detectives and the Austgen family had made a public plea for help. They released photos of Austgen’s distinctive rings taken from her the night she disappeared. Her grieving son said there was a $10,000 reward for anyone who could help capture his mother's killer.
Detectives say the tip that led to Tuesday’s arrest had no connection to the stolen rings.
