Sunday, July 17, 2011

River Forest, IL: Police: Man charged in woman's murder called 911

(RIVER FOREST) (WLS) -- A 911 call from the moments after a woman was shot to death in River Forest came from a man now charged in her murder.

On the call, Devin Bickham, Sr. sounds distraught, to the point that the operator has a hard time understanding him because of his crying. However, prosecutors say that his are the sobs of a killer trying to cover his tracks.

Police say the Chicago woman, Chervon Alexander, was gunned down in Devin Bickham Sr.'s car, which was sitting in a parking lot Monday night.

STORY: River Forest murder suspects held without bond
Bickham, Sr., his son, Devin Bickham, Jr., and a third man, Cardell Taylor, are all now charged with first-degree murder.
In the recording, Bickham, Sr., can be heard telling an officer that his girlfriend had been shot by "some guy", and that the driver had kept going afterward.

Prosecutors say the married Bickham, Sr. hired the two others to kill Alexander, his girlfriend, because she was pressuring him to leave his wife.

After pulling into the dark parking lot near Dominican University, prosecutors say Bickham, Sr., sent a text message to his son and Taylor, who then drove up.

Police have identified Taylor as the triggerman and say he was paid $200 by Bickham, Sr. before the shooting and promised another $200 after the job was done.

Taylor and Bickham, Jr. were stopped in their vehicle and arrested minutes after the shooting. In their car was the alleged murder weapon, a semi-automatic pistol.

Prosecutors say both men have implicated Bickha, Sr., who is a former North Chicago police officer, though his attorney maintains his innocence.

"This is something that I believe at the end of the day when it goes to trial, my client is going to be found innocent," said Mike Clancy, attorney for Devin Bickham, Sr.

Alexander, 29, had been telling people that she and Bickham, Sr. were engaged. Court records show Bickham, Sr. had been having money problems. A recent bankruptcy filing lists him as separated from his wife.

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