Update 6 p.m.: The Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of a suspect in the murder of a popular bar owner as she prepared to open the establishment Monday morning.
Julius E. Burkes Jr., 47, was arrested at his home in Hammond, Indiana, and is awaiting extradition back to Illinois.
Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey earlier released images of the suspect and the car he was driving, according to WLS. Downey said the suspect entered The Line bar around 11 a.m., brandished a gun, and demanded cash.
“Despite her cooperation, the suspect shot her twice execution-style before fleeing the scene,” Downey said at a press conference earlier Tuesday.
Investigators recovered surveillance video from the bar showing the suspect trying to remove the camera from a wall.
Original story:
Illinois police are investigating the murder of a rural bar owner who was found dead at her establishment shortly after opening Monday morning.
The Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office said Courtney M. Drysdale, 30, was pronounced dead at The Line, near the Illinois-Indiana state line in Momence.
WLS reported that Drysdale would have opened up alone at about 11 a.m., and police responded to The Line just before noon.
“I mean it, she was probably the nicest person. I could always go to her for anything,” Hailey Gershon, a friend and employee, said. “She would literally give up the whole world for somebody and would always be there for everybody, even though if she was upset or going through things. She would push those aside for others and, like, make sure they were happy.”
Gershon said Drysdale had been a bartender at The Line before owning it. She leaves behind a fiance and a school-aged daughter.
The sheriff’s office said that “evidence gathered during the preliminary investigation” led them to conclude Drysdale was murdered. Details were not provided.
The Line announced in a post on its Facebook page that it would be closed “until further notice.”
Anyone with information to call them at (815) 802-7150 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at (815) 93-CRIME.
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[Featured image: Courtney Drysdale/Facebook and Julius E. Burkes Jr/Kankakee County Sheriff’s Office]