GUILTY IL - Lauren Lofquist, 8, murdered, Clarendon Hills, 26 March 2006

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tweedledee said:
An autopsy confirmed she died of injuries consistent with the way authorities said Neil Lofquist detailed killing his daughter. Pathologists did not find obvious signs of sex-related trauma, but further forensic tests are under way to determine if any DNA evidence present on the child’s body is consistent with molestation.

If pathologists did not find any obvious signs of sex-related trauma, she probably wasn't abused. There would be physical eveidence on an 8 yr old. What if Neil really did have a break from reality? How scary is that? My heart goes out to Lisa. If Neil really is "sick" her emotions have to be all over the place. How sad.
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There wouldn't be a FRICKING OUNCE OF EVIDENCE IF he made her orally copulate him or he did that in turn. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Not going to believe sex wasn't part of the motive somehow.
 
Even though there was no proof of rape the night she died, he may have been molesting her but maybe towards the last couple weeks or months she started saying no and thats what triggered his big "snap".
I have a feeling we are never going to know what was going on in his head.

Such an awful tragedy. There are kids in the neighborhood that are so scared by this that they think their dads might do this to them, some just have a lot of questions and have a hard time sleeping at night. At any age it is hard to make sense of this, but I could never imagine losing a friend like this at 8-years-old.

Prayers go out to Lisa and Lars. They moved back into the house. I don't know if I would have been able to do that, but I think part of it was to get back some normalcy of life (especially for Lars)
 
maiseyjane said:
Even though there was no proof of rape the night she died, he may have been molesting her but maybe towards the last couple weeks or months she started saying no and thats what triggered his big "snap".
I have a feeling we are never going to know what was going on in his head.

Such an awful tragedy. There are kids in the neighborhood that are so scared by this that they think their dads might do this to them. At any age it is hard to make sense of this, but I could never imagine losing a friend like this at 8-years-old.

Prayers go out to Lisa and Lars. They moved back into the house. I don't know if I would have been able to do that, but I think part of it was to get back to the normalcy of life (especially for Lars)
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Molestation is sometimes viewed as rape only but that is not the case in many instances.It is still cruel and unforgiving. I also think she may have said no....thus triggering a response that ended her life. Pedophiles think only in their moment. That is why there is no rehabilitation for them.
 
concernedperson said:
Molestation is sometimes viewed as rape only but that is not the case in many instances.It is still cruel and unforgiving. I also think she may have said no....thus triggering a response that ended her life. Pedophiles think only in their moment. That is why there is no rehabilitation for them.
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you are right, i should have said sex-related trauma(according to the Chicago Tribune) instead of rape
 
Lofquist did not have a documented history of mental health problems, but his family reported a pattern of progressively paranoid behavior this past couple of months. For example, Neil Lofquist had been on a recent business trip in Michigan when he called his wife from a hotel in the middle of the night to report God had been speaking to him. He abruptly left the hotel, leaving his laptop with the concierge to give to his boss at Farmer's Insurance.

Lofquist has a clean criminal past. Police did investigate him after a July 2002 complaint in which an anonymous caller accused him of inappropriately touching a 17-year-old female employee eight months earlier at his former business, Mad Potter, in Downers Grove. Police later found the employee.

“She did make a statement that she felt the owner, Mr. Lofquist, had touched her inappropriately,” said Kurt Bluder, a Downers Grove deputy police chief. “In the end, the alleged victim informed our detectives if she wished to pursue the matter she would contact them. She never did.”

http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=173932

The last two paragraphs I put in above make believe that there may have been more of a chance he was molesting lauren.
Poor girl.
 
maiseyjane said:
Lofquist did not have a documented history of mental health problems, but his family reported a pattern of progressively paranoid behavior this past couple of months. For example, Neil Lofquist had been on a recent business trip in Michigan when he called his wife from a hotel in the middle of the night to report God had been speaking to him. He abruptly left the hotel, leaving his laptop with the concierge to give to his boss at Farmer's Insurance.

Lofquist has a clean criminal past. Police did investigate him after a July 2002 complaint in which an anonymous caller accused him of inappropriately touching a 17-year-old female employee eight months earlier at his former business, Mad Potter, in Downers Grove. Police later found the employee.

“She did make a statement that she felt the owner, Mr. Lofquist, had touched her inappropriately,” said Kurt Bluder, a Downers Grove deputy police chief. “In the end, the alleged victim informed our detectives if she wished to pursue the matter she would contact them. She never did.”

http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=173932

The last two paragraphs I put in above make believe that there may have been more of a chance he was molesting lauren.
Poor girl.
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But touching a young female employee is a lot diffierent than touching or molesting your own daughter.

The paranoia is interesting though. Drugs will sometimes trigger schitzophrenia or schitzophrenic symptoms like hearing voices, very often God. He could have gotten ahold of drugs and not even know it. Young people sometimes thing slipping something to someone who wouldn't otherwise take drugs is funny. Not suggesting that happened here but there are all sorts of drugs on the market today that make the 60s and 70s look tame.
 
Maybe he is schizophrenic and has been all along. My Grandmother was diagnosed with schizophrenia in her 70's. She led a normal life and never exhibited bizarre behavior till moving away from her family which "triggered" it.
 
Goody said:
But touching a young female employee is a lot diffierent than touching or molesting your own daughter.

The paranoia is interesting though. Drugs will sometimes trigger schitzophrenia or schitzophrenic symptoms like hearing voices, very often God. He could have gotten ahold of drugs and not even know it. Young people sometimes thing slipping something to someone who wouldn't otherwise take drugs is funny. Not suggesting that happened here but there are all sorts of drugs on the market today that make the 60s and 70s look tame.
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They are doing the mental health tests on Neil today and tomorrow, so we may learn more soon.
 
I wonder if they have thought about a brain tumor as well. Rule out all possible reasons.

Not that I'm condoning him in any way. Just seems weird that he had symptoms of something for just a short time.

Or he could be a sick nut!

I just feel for that poor woman who found her and her mama. I can't imagine how frantic she was to be at the hospital and hear something that scared her so bad to call and have to ask.

And lastly that poor little girl. Just breaks my heart.
 
tweedledee said:
Maybe he is schizophrenic and has been all along. My Grandmother was diagnosed with schizophrenia in her 70's. She led a normal life and never exhibited bizarre behavior till moving away from her family which "triggered" it.
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Interesting! I didn't know that schizophrenia could be 'triggered' by a tragic or difficult event....

Wonder if anything happening in the Lofquist's life could have triggered something?
 
Dadof4 said:
Interesting! I didn't know that schizophrenia could be 'triggered' by a tragic or difficult event....

Wonder if anything happening in the Lofquist's life could have triggered something?
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From what I've heard, no major changes have happened in his life lately. He did sell the family businesses about two years ago, but he has been working and was not having any financial problems. They've lived in the same house since Lauren was 2 and his family has been healthy. So it doesn't sound like there would be anything big except for everyday stressors that we all encounter.

Somebody may be able to answer this for me because I don't know............Do people with schizophrenia usually progressively get worse or is the first sign of it severe and full blown? If they do find out Neil is schizophrenic that is scary that he only showed possible signs for a couple of months and was cabable of what he did to Lauren.


On another note........I do have a girl in my class that we just found out was being sexually abused by her father. I'm not saying Neil was abusing her, but just like Neil this other father always came on school field trips, volunteered in the classroom, coached his daughter's soccer team, always took his daughter to museums,baseball games, etc. On the surface he seemed like this great,kind, perfect, involved father with a wonderful family. In the case with my student when I look back on it I kind of feel that her father did all these great things with her to make up for the evil he was doing to her behind close doors. (Interesting FYI................my student started stuttering just out of the blue and had continued it for a couple weeks (but she always had speech/language problems so I thought it was just another problem we were going to have to get her through) and then her mom caught her dad in the act and took her to the hospital. At the hospital they said that stuttering is sometimes a big sign of sexual abuse)
 
maiseyjane--I just wanted to thank you for your posts on this case. I always check this thread to see if you have posted. Please keep posting! :)
 
it sounds possible that he had a psychotic break usually associated with schizophrenia. While the first psychotic episode usually happens when the person is in their 20's or 30's-it is not unheard of for it to happen at a later age. And the fact that in hindsight, people are coming forward and describing strange behaviors that were seen months before this tragedy, makes me believe that this man could very well be an undiagnosed schizophrenic.

I am sure that he will be evaluated by mental health professionals at some point-I am just glad he didn't kill his entire family-because with this type of mental illness it would have been a real possibility!

And maybe some folks out there who have seen strange or "off" actions on the part of their own loved ones will pay closer attention and if necessary get them they help thay may very well need!
 
maiseyjane said:
......
Somebody may be able to answer this for me because I don't know............Do people with schizophrenia usually progressively get worse or is the first sign of it severe and full blown? If they do find out Neil is schizophrenic that is scary that he only showed possible signs for a couple of months and was cabable of what he did to Lauren........
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I am no expert but I know a little about it since one the kids my kids were close to growing up got it. As I understand it, there are several different degrees of it, or levels. How bad it gets depends on the treatment given and how cooperative the patient is, how much family support he has, etc. I know it can be triggered by drugs but I think one has to be subject to it in the first place. LIke something inherited through your genes that lays dormant for years (maybe forever) until activated by some event or circumstance (like a good dose of LSD). Most people who inherit it, are diagnosed with it in their teens or early 20s. About a third outgrow it eventually or it goes into remission sometime after age 35. I have never heard of anyone getting it in their 70s. However, I have heard of schitzophrenic symptoms in other illnesses. A person can have some of the same types of symptoms but still not have schitzophrenia. So schitzophrenic symptoms and schitzophrenia are two very different things. But I have never really studied the illness. These are just some of the things I have learned about it over the years.
 
here is the link to the sermon from Lauren's church last sunday (the morning of the funeral service)

It helped me with this tragedy. I often looked at death as part of god's plan, but when tragedies like this occur it's hard to use that theory. This sermon put things together for me a little bit.

http://www.chcpc.org/Worship/2006/sermon...2006_04_02.htm

I don't think i posted this before but Lisa is believed to be struggling financially now. Before Lauren's death the family was doing well off financially so I don't know if only Neil had access to their major bank account and is now using it for his defense or what happened to put lisa in this position so quickly. A lot of people have been scared to donate money to the lisa and lars fund for fear that she would use some of it towards Neils defense, but she has stated that she would not do that. Now a lot of people donating are donating in the form of gift cards. Talk has been going on around here to do a fundraiser for lisa and lars, if anybody has any ideas about types of fundraisers Lauren's community could do please feel free to share them.
 
Goody said:
I am no expert but I know a little about it since one the kids my kids were close to growing up got it. As I understand it, there are several different degrees of it, or levels. How bad it gets depends on the treatment given and how cooperative the patient is, how much family support he has, etc. I know it can be triggered by drugs but I think one has to be subject to it in the first place. LIke something inherited through your genes that lays dormant for years (maybe forever) until activated by some event or circumstance (like a good dose of LSD). Most people who inherit it, are diagnosed with it in their teens or early 20s. About a third outgrow it eventually or it goes into remission sometime after age 35. I have never heard of anyone getting it in their 70s. However, I have heard of schitzophrenic symptoms in other illnesses. A person can have some of the same types of symptoms but still not have schitzophrenia. So schitzophrenic symptoms and schitzophrenia are two very different things. But I have never really studied the illness. These are just some of the things I have learned about it over the years.
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Thanks for the info. I didn't know that a people grow out of it or it could go into remission. interesting.
I know they can use similar drugs to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, does anybody think Neil possibly may have been battling bipolar or does that sound way off? From the people I know that are dealing with bipolar they act different than Neil was.................but i also know every case of it could be different. Another side note..........According to some girls that Neil worked with he was always very manipulative and liked power and control..........not in a scary way they said, but in a way that made him odd.
 
Schizophrenia does not have a cure, and although symptoms can go into remission, the disorder never goes away. It can come back for many reasons. It is vital that a person diagnosed take their meds, have support of some sort and stays away from drugs or alcohol, which can trigger symptoms again.

It is also considered partially a hereditary disorder/disease.

But I do take exception to the part about outgrowing it. You just don't. It is is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease, it is uncurable, though treatable. Triggers can be avoided, symptoms can be dealt with, but you live with it on a daily basis for the rest of your life.

I personally dont have family members with this but do have a dear, dear friend who has lived with it now for 34 years. It is def something that you have to trust others with. Not only for support, but sometimes an outsider sees things that the person dealing with it does not. That part of the symptoms, they miss cues on behaviour.

As far as his controlling. Many diseases leave you feeling out of control on some level and needing to control something is common. Even if it's how papers are stacked in a certain pattern, controlling others behaviours to fit your schedule etc. My son has autism and does this control thing. Mostly because he likes everything to follow 'his' ideals and because there are only so many things he can control so feels justified in controlling them.

But I will say, most schizophrenics have no issues with control as far as controlling others. It is the lack of control that causes the problems.
 
Lisa filed for divorce from Neil. I can't even imagine how upside down her life must be right now!

The following article makes me wonder how he was treating her and the kids prior to Lauren's death. Maybe there was a lot of verbal abuse going on in the past couple months.

From what I've heard in the community Lisa is having trouble paying this months morgage and had trouble finding funds to pay for Lauren's burial. Lisa is an only child and her parents are deceased so she has got to feel so alone in all this.

I don't know how she came up with the funds for the divorce attorney, but an attorney may have taken on her case pro bono.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=176742


In the divorce filing, 39-year-old Lisa Lofquist accused her husband of "extreme and repeated acts of mental cruelty, including but not limited to the murder of (their) minor child, Lauren Annika Lofquist."

Furthermore, the wife also said her husband "wasted assets for his exclusive benefit" without her consent in the midst of the breakdown of their marriage. Authorities said he borrowed against the equity in their home unbeknownst to Lisa Lofquist to free up cash for his businesses.
 
his part-the more I am convinced that he has a serious mental heath issue that no one was willing or able to address. People with schizophrenia often start out with behaviors involving lavish spending, and/or inappropriate handling of money or assets. They then progress to "hearing voices"-many times stating God has told them to do a certain thing. Without treatment, the behaviors will become more bizarre and irrational-paranoia is very common. The danger point is when they have what is termed as the "psychotic break"-when the delusions are the only thing that is real and the person acts only as their "inner voices" instruct them to. It sounds as if, sadly, when Neil's "break" occurred, Lauren was the victim.

Unfortunately, many times those closest to the schizophrenic become their victims-and in this case, Neil could have killed his entire family if that is what his "voices" had told him to do.

And contrary to some postings, true schizophrenia NEVER goes away-it may be controlled by diligent taking of meds, psychiatric support, and avoidance of identified "triggers"-but it is a disease that has NO CURE nor does anyone ever outgrow it!
 
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