CHICAGO — Police are investigating the fatal stabbing of an elderly woman on a quiet block in South Shore Sunday.
Catherine Glenn, 82, of the 7800 block of South Euclid Avenue, was pronounced dead in her home at 8:11 a.m. Sunday, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. Her body was found in a closet, and investigators believe the cause of death is "trauma."
Daughter Cathy Glenn was one of the first to find the woman, who celebrated her 82nd birthday the day before her death on Mother's Day.
"That her life was cut short in such a heinous way is hard to accept," Cathy Glenn said. "If she had died any other day it would still be hard, but today especially."
Officer Jose Estrada, a police spokesman, said Glenn's body was discovered about 7:40 a.m. A homicide investigation is underway, and the murder appears to be a domestic incident.
"It's really the saddest thing," said Glenn, who had come to check on her mother when she discovered her body. "We think someone we know did it, but we don't know if she even knows she did it."
That's because Glenn suspects a "mentally ill" member of the family may have committed the act without fully realizing it. The Tribune reported a member of the family was being questioned about the crime, but had not been charged.
Glenn said her mother, a lifelong homemaker, was well known around the neighborhood for her cooking and as a babysitter to many of the neighborhood children.
"That was her gift, she was a caregiver," Glenn said. "She was the sweetest lady you'd ever meet."
This will "taint my Mother's Day from now on," Glenn said. But she added that it's a reminder to "take everything she taught me and live my life the best I can."