NAPERVILLE – A suburban Chicago woman was charged Wednesday with murder in the deaths of two children in her care, DuPage County prosecutors said.
Elzbieta Plackowska, 40, of Naperville, faces charges of first-degree murder, State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said.
Police found the children, one of whom was a kindergartner, after being called to check on a home on a quiet cul-de-sac. Authorities refused to provide any details about how the children were killed or give their names. They did say there was no reason to believe others were involved in the crime.
Plackowska was scheduled to appear for a bond hearing in Wheaton today. Berlin declined to comment beyond a written statement and did not say whether Plackowska had an attorney yet.
Officers were called to the Naperville home Tuesday night to make a well-being check, said Sgt. Louis Cammiso, who did not elaborate on what exactly prompted the request or who placed the call.
Berlin said he and Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall will provide more information about the crime at a news conference after Plackowska’s court appearance.
The quiet neighborhood in the suburb west of Chicago was in shock.
“I’m just devastated by it all,” said Della Brinson, 60, who lives on the same cul-de-sac of the house where the bodies were found.
Neither she nor her husband heard any disturbance Tuesday night, she said. They learned the news after waking up to the commotion of news crews, helicopters and police cars.
Brinson said she did not think the woman in custody was known around the neighborhood.
“I never did even see the children,” she said. “It’s a very quiet area. We come and we go, we get in our cars; we don’t get to know each other as much as we should.”
“I’m praying for the family that they’ll recoup from all of this,” she said.
Brookdale Elementary School said one of the slain children was a kindergartener there.
“It is with great sadness that we inform you that the Brookdale community mourns the loss of one of our kindergarten students, who passed away last night,” Principal Mary Howicz said in a statement on the school’s website.
“The district’s crisis team is in place this morning to support students and staff as they cope with this news. They will remain in place for as long as necessary as students work through their feelings and grief.”
