Chicago police said Thursday that detectives have been sent to a Milwaukee suburb after being notified about a possible suicide in that suburb. Police would not confirm if the shooting was related to the slayings of a federal judge's mother and husband 10 days ago, police spokesman Hector Alfaro said. A published report said a man who shot himself in the head in West Allis, Wis., left a suicide note claiming responsibility for the slayings of U.S. District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow's mother and husband.Members of the task force investigating the deaths of Michael Lefkow, 64, and Donna Humphrey, 89, said police stopped the man's van at a traffic stop around 6 p.m. Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune, citing unnamed sources, reported in Thursday's editions. West Allis police said they planned to hold a Thursday morning press conference but would not confirm if the press conference was related to the Lefkow slayings or the possible suicide. As police approached the van Wednesday, the man shot himself in the head, the Tribune reported.
Investigators said the man claimed he shot Judge Lefkow's family in a suicide note that included details not released to the public in the case, according to the newspaper. Judge Lefkow found her husband and mother shot to death in the basement of her home when she returned from work Feb. 28. Investigators also discovered .22 caliber shells in the man's van that are the same caliber as the casings found in Judge Lefkow's home, the Tribune reported. Authorities were investigating whether Judge Lefkow had ruled against the man in a civil case, according to the newspaper, which cited unnamed sources close to the case. The man's suicide note said that the judgment had cost the him "his house, his job and family," according to the Tribune.