WOODLAWN — Lori Heidbrick and her longtime boyfriend Mario Vena were allegedly killed by their roommate.
Michael Myrieckes, 52, had inherited a Woodlawn home from his sister who died of cancer, but the house was in foreclosure and all three needed to move out, said Heidbrick’s mother, Meredith Heidbrick.
An argument over who would live in the home turned violent May 25 when Myrieckes allegedly blasted the two with a shotgun and a handgun at the home, in the 6500 block of South Kenwood Avenue, authorities said.
Heidbrick, 49, was shot in the neck and in the chest, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. She was pronounced dead on the scene and her death was ruled a homicide.
Vena, 68, was also dead on the scene from shotgun and handgun wounds, according to authorities.
Myrieckes, 52, of the 6500 block of South Kenwood Avenue, was charged with their murders, according to court records.
Heidbrick and Mario had been together for more than 15 years and had several children together. In all, Heidbrick had eight children.
Mario Vena had suffered a stroke and Heidbrick was his caregiver, Meredith Heidbrick said.
Although Heidbrick had her share of trouble in the past, she was trying to change her life, Meredith Heidbrick said.
Heidbrick had several drug and prostitution convictions in Cook County, records show.
“She told me [she had] messed up her life and that hurt quite a few people,” Meredith Heidbrick said. “She told me she can’t fix the past but she can only fix the future.”
Heidbrick, the oldest of four children, grew up in Lake County.
When she was a teenager, Heidbrick’s then-boyfriend was killed in a car accident, her mother said.
“That was the traumatic experience for her,” Meredith Heidbrick said, adding that might have caused her life to derail.
“She wasn’t a violent person, so I don’t think the violent ending is deserved,” her mother said. “No matter what went on, Michael had no right to take two human lives. Nobody deserves that. Not even a dog.”
