ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. -- A Greater Cincinnati man charged with murder in his wife's death left his job at a suburban Chicago police department when he came under investigation for his use of force.
Jeffrey Hawkins, 57, calmly told a 911 operator Monday that he'd shot his wife in their Colerain Township home. He surrendered and is being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center on $3 million bond pending grand jury action next week.
Hawkins resigned from the Elk Grove Village Police Department in 1999, the department's Police Chief Stephen Schmidt said, when the department started investigating a complaint that he used unnecessary force during an arrest.
He worked for the department from 1990 to 1999. The village issued a statement saying that the department hasn't had contact with Hawkins since he resigned.
A spokeswoman for Chicago's Field Museum said Hawkins worked as a security officer there from 1999 to 2003.
“I just shot and killed my wife,” Hawkins calmly told a 911 operator Monday. Police took him into custody just before noon that day, according to Colerain Township Police spokesman James Love.
They found his wife Jo Ann, 59, shot to death in the home.
At Hawkin's arraignment Tuesday, a spokesman for Jo Ann's family requested a high bond because of fear for their lives if Hawkins got out of jail.
“We’ve been scared in the past. I had an off-and-on relationship with my mom in the past because of him, and we know what he’s capable of,” said Bo Hart, the victim's son.
Hart added that he had suspected mental abuse in the past.
Hawkins' attorney called the situation "an anomaly on his record."
WATCH Hawkin's appearance in court in the video player below.
