Hickory Hills man, 71, charged with fatally stabbing wife

A Hickory Hills man was charged Tuesday in the fatal stabbing of his wife, who was found dead last weekend at their south suburban home.

Czeslaw Sipior, 71, is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 64-year-old Maria Sipior, according to Hickory Hills Police.

Emergency crews responded shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday to a home in the 8900 block of 84th Avenue for a report of a house fire, police said.

When the fire was put out, Maria Sipior was found dead in the basement of the home, authorities said. Czeslaw Sipior and his wife’s silver Honda Civic were missing.

Shortly after midnight Sunday, officers in Watervliet, Michigan stopped the Honda and found Czeslaw Sipior with blood on his clothes and burns on his legs, police said.

He was taken to Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and booked into the Berrien County Jail on Monday, according to police and Berrien County Sheriff’s Office records.

An autopsy Monday found Maria Sipior died of multiple sharp force injuries and her death was ruled a homicide, the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said.

The case was investigated by the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force and a warrant charging Sipior with murder was issued Tuesday.

Sipior remained held at the Berrien County Jail on Tuesday awaiting extradition to Cook County, according to authorities.