Northfield attorney fatally shot by brother-in-law with money woes: prosecutor
A Winnetka man gunned down his brother-in-law and tried to kill his sister during a confrontation at the couple’s home Monday night, a prosecutor said Thursday.
John Gately III, 66, was ordered held without bail on charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of 72-year-old Stephen Shapiro of Northfield, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.
Judge Anjana M.J. Hansen ordered Gately held without bail at a hearing Thursday at the Skokie Courthouse.
Gately went to Stephen and Joan Shapiro’s home about 7:20 p.m. Monday in the 200 block of Latrobe and rang the doorbell, Assistant State’s Attorney Andreana Turano said in court.
The couple was listening to meditation music and had just finished a quiet dinner, Turano said. Stephen Shapiro answered the door and was asked by Gately, “Where’s Joan?”
When Stephen Shapiro said she was not available, Gately fired a .22-caliber handgun multiple times and Stephen lurched back into the home’s kitchen and collapsed, Turano said. Joan hid behind a chair and Gately turned the gun on her, but it did not fire. As he tried to fix the gun, spent cartridges and live rounds fell from it onto the floor.
Joan Shapiro ran from the house and hid behind a car across the street and called police, Turano said. She noticed that Gately had left his car running and had parked facing the street, as if planning to make a quick escape, Turano said.
Gately then left the house and headed to his Winnetka apartment; Joan Shapiro went back inside to find her husband. Stephen Shapiro was taken to Evanston hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Turano said. He had been shot twice in the chest and both bullets were recovered from his body.
Earlier in the day, Joan Shapiro had missed several calls from Gately; she had been supporting him financially, Turano said. In addition to paying Gately’s landlord, he also received an allowance from her monthly.
Joan Shapiro had recently argued with her brother about the management of his finances, Turano said. The day before the shooting, Gately had backed into a wrought iron fence at another sister’s home. Joan and her other sister had confronted him, because they suspected he had been drinking.
Following the hearing, Gately’s attorney, Michael Petro, said his client had struggled financially and was surprised by his brotherin-law’s death.
“I did speak with [Gately] and he stated he loves Joan and Johnny very much,” Petro said. He added Gately was “sorry to learn of Stephen’s passing.”
Gately plans to plead not guilty to the charges, Petro said.
Gately was taken into custody about 10:35 p.m. at his apartment in the 1000 block of Tower Road in Winnetka by a SWAT team, Turano said. At one point while barricaded inside his apartment, Gately tried to escape via a rope he had lowered off a balcony.
The arrest came after the Northern Regional Major Crimes Task Force “interviewed many witnesses and collected extensive evidence,” according to the Village of Northfield’s Facebook page.
Petro said Gately may have been “confused” by the large police presence around that home when he considered going over the balcony.
Several weapons were seized by police after entering the home, but a .22-caliber gun was not among them, Turano said.
Petro said Gately has a valid FOID card and all of the weapons seized were purchased legally.
Shapiro was a partner at the Mayer Brown law firm in Chicago and was the founder and senior member of the firm’s Supreme Court and appellate practice, according to the firm’s website.
Gately’s next hearing is slated for Aug. 30.