Cops: West Side man killed wife over insurance benefits - Chicago ...

The husband of a West Side mother found slain inside the trunk of her car this week has been charged with her murder.

Darron Brewer, 22, of the 3700 block of West Belden Avenue, was charged Thursday night with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife Kenyatae Collier-Brewer, police said.

Police said Brewer -- who initially claimed his wife had gone missing -- said he spotted her Chevrolet Monte Carlo Monday night in an alley in the 2200 block of North Tripp Avenue. Inside the trunk, authorities discovered Collier-Brewer, 22, who'd been shot multiple times.

Police said Brewer killed his wife of two years and mother of three in order to collect benefits from her life insurance policy.

Collier-Brewer, 22, a nursing assistant at the Alden Northmoor Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, leaves behind daughter, Darriona, 1; and two sons, Darron, 9 months, and Donte, 4, with Brewer fathering the two younger children.

Collier-Brewer's family expressed relief and shock at news of the charges.

"We weren't completely shocked, but we were still kind of shocked that he would do something like this," Collier-Brewer's aunt, Bess Jones said late Thursday.

Jones said family members were leery of the young husband after learning of his criminal background. According to court records, Brewer pleaded guilty on Dec. 5, 2005 to one count of defrauding a financial institution before Circuit Court Judge Marvin Luckman. Brewer was sentenced to one year of court supervision and was ordered to perform four days of community service, working for the Cook County sheriff's work alternative program.

Collier-Brewer also endured several brushes with danger that the couple explained away as accidents, Jones said.

Last year, while pregnant with her son, she was shot at the stairwell of her family's apartment. Most recently, Collier-Brewer suffered cuts to her face in what was described as someone throwing a bottle at her while inside of her vehicle.

Read more...