STATE OF ILLINOIS
COUNTY OF LAKE
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE NINETEENTH JUDICIAL
CIRCUIT, LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
VS.
Adam Christensen
GENERAL NO. 04 cf 2643
VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT
I, Geralyn Willding , pursuant to 725 Illinois Compiled Statutes, 120/6(a) do hereby make the following statement as to the impact which the offense committed by the above named defendant has had upon my daughter, my family and me:
In December of 1997 my three girls and I moved into our new home in Ingleside. We had lived in Antioch since 1982. I was looking for a house in a safe neighborhood with good schools. I had searched and searched then one day I got a call from a friend who told me of a builder who had bought a lot in a well established neighborhood in Ingleside. It was a community watch neighborhood with an Association. Everyone knew everyone else. It was in a great school district and had lots of children. I talked with the builder and felt fortunate to find such a wonderful home in a safe area that I could afford.
It was a new beginning for Courtney, Stephanie, Liz and I. It was the four of us against the world. We use to call ourselves the four musketeers, because we thought together the four of us could get through anything. Liz loved her new school and her friendships. She became very involved in her school and played a big part in the cancer walk every year to raise money. Liz was a kind and gentle soul. I always said she was a wise old
soul in a young body. She cared about people and had a strong belief system. When her three best friends from Gavin became involved in drugs and alcohol during high school, she told them she didn’t approve and to please not do it in front of her. When they continued and disregarded her wishes, she stopped hanging out with them but still would extend her friendship to them by saying “Hi” in the halls.
She was the most nonjudgmental human being I have ever met. She always stood up for the underdog. If someone was being made fun of, Liz would step in and stand up for them. Even as a small child her drive to help others or as a team member was remarkable. At age 7 during a soccer game she hurt her arm and after sitting out 10 minutes she begged the coach to allow her play. She scored the winning goal and later we found out she had a broken wrist. Lizzie always had a smile on her face that lit up the world. If you looked into her eyes you could see the beauty in her inside and out.
Liz fit right into the neighborhood we chose to live in. It appeared to be an ideal place to raise children of all ages. As parents we never worried about where our children were because they would be in a group together at one of the houses on our street. We didn’t think anything of leaving our doors unlocked. I realize now what a false sense of security we had.
On July 13, 2004 my cell phone rang. Lizzie was on the phone crying saying her Xbox was gone. I reassured her that it had probably been packed up by mistake with her sister’s things. Courtney was moving on July 13th and had friends helping her. When I got home Lizzie was still crying. She thought someone had come into our house where she always felt safe and had taken her treasured Xbox. Her Xbox was very important to her because with her busy schedule it was her way to relax. She was devastated when it was gone. She was a real movie buff and she used her Xbox not only to play games but to also watch her movies.
The last time I saw my daughter, I was hugging her and reassuring her that everything was OK. The last time I saw my daughter alive I was assuring her she was safe in our home. She didn’t have to worry. I held her, wiped her tears and we told each other how much we loved one another. Every day I live with the thoughts of what I could have done differently. I live with the fact every day that I reassured my Liz that she was safe in our home when in fact she wasn’t safe at all. It was the last night any of us ever lived in our home again. The next day July 14, 2004 our lives as we once knew it was gone forever.
Your Honor, when I walked into my home on July 14, 2004 I discovered my daughter’s lifeless body. I can’t even find words to describe what I felt. I saw my sweet baby girl lying half on and off the couch with blood
everywhere. It was like a surreal picture. A horrific scene that now is imprinted in my memory forever. I knew immediately Liz was dead. I couldn’t go to her. I just went hysterical and ran out of my house to Scott’s house fifty yards away. All I could do was scream, someone murdered Liz! Someone murdered Liz! Scott came running, at one point he stopped me and shook me to try to stop my hysteria. I pulled away and just kept screaming someone murdered Lizzie! I told him she was on the couch in the family room. Scott went into the house and he came back up and said she isn’t there, I had to go back into the house and show him. He didn’t see her because she was half on and off the couch. Her dog Charlie was laying on her stomach all full of blood and didn’t move or make a sound. Scott tried to find Liz’s pulse and told me to call 911. He lifted her body and tried another way to find a pulse because her left side of her neck was slashed nine times.
The 911 operator told us to get out to the house and I remember in the middle of speaking to her I said “Oh my God I have to call my ex-husband.” In the midst of all the horror and hysteria I thought of Steve, Lizzie’s father. How was I going to tell him? I don’t believe that day or vision of finding her will ever leave my mind or my heart. It rewinds and plays over and over as though it was yesterday. I re-live it at night in my dreams and when I am wide awake.
Since that day we have trouble feeling safe anywhere. I worry about my daughters Courtney and Stephanie. Blinds that use to be left open at night are now being closed. Our trust in people is questionable. We look at the world in an extremely different way.
We all live in different places now. At that time my middle daughter Stephanie was attending DePaul University and made her permanent home in Chicago. We would talk to each other once or twice a day. That way if I didn’t hear from her I would know something was wrong. When we would go places we would let each other know when we were leaving and when we would return. One day I went shopping and the time got away from me. I was gone two hours longer than I said I would be. I didn’t have my phone turned on, everyone was frantic with worry that something had happened to me. It is a terrible way to live, constantly worrying that something might happen to your loved ones.
Just seven weeks after Liz’s murder, Stephanie’s fiancee was coming from ISU because he knew Steph needed him. On his trip to offer comfort to Stephanie he was killed when a semi ran him off the highway. I watched my daughter’s pain grow as she suffered for both her sister and her fiance. Yet I knew all I could do was be there for her, let her know I loved her. As a mom I just wanted to take away her pain, but I knew I couldn’t take it away anymore than I could breathe life back into Liz again.
Liz’s death physically and emotionally affected Courtney severely also. Courtney being the oldest of the girls was protective of her little sister Liz and for a long time blamed herself for moving out on July 13th. She felt if she had been there Liz would be alive today. One day at a time, Liz’s sisters are trying to get on with their lives and I am so proud of them.
I also worry about Steve, Liz’s dad, all the time. We have had differences of opinions but even though we are not together, Liz was still our baby. We have never been able to sit down and talk about any of this horror.
My mom and dad are 88 and 89. I have seen my parents age so much in the last 3 plus years. When I look into dad’s eyes I see his pain. I know it is not just for losing Liz but it is slowly killing him to see his daughter and other granddaughters in so much pain. I know he worries all the time about the girls and me. My mom is one of the strongest women in the world. She insisted she had to be here today so she would know exactly what I had gone through so she could understand and try to help me. We are very fortunate for having our family and friends.
Liz’s murder has had an affect on our entire family. I have six wonderful sisters along with my brother-in-laws, twenty-seven nieces and nephews who all live within the Kenosha area. My sister Sue had such anger after Liz’s murder she ended up having two brain aneurisms within a year of her murder. Sue almost died. In my heart I believe the stress and anger had a lot to do with her illness. My brother-in-law Ken’s cancer was in remission. He and my sister Karen came to the court dates often. I believe Ken’s love and
support for the girls and I, created stress and anxiety and in turn has caused his cancer to come back. We are a very close knit family but now our family get togethers just aren’t the same. The family really never discuss Liz because they are afraid to say anything. They don’t want to upset the girls or myself. I don’t go to the get togethers because I don’t want to spoil our good times together. We have been blessed with a new addition to our family Courtney’s daughter born 2006 “our little Madison”. Madison is a daily reminder that life does go on and I am so grateful to God for his gift to all of us. Yet it is bitter sweet to know Madison will not grow up with her Aunt Lizzie singing sweet lullabies to her or their making fond memories with each other.
I don’t go out as often because even though it has been over three years there isn’t a time that I am out someone doesn’t recognize me, or my name, and want to say something about Liz’s murder. I know it is only because they care and want to help. The problem is it takes me right back to all the pain. I have always been a strong person, I could get through everything. Now I may have to file for disability in the future in order to support myself. I was a loyal and valued employee and enjoyed being a florist, but haven’t been able work since Liz’s murder. I have since been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and depression by my
psychologist. I am on medications in order to function on a daily basis. There are so many unanswered questions in my mind about what happened and it adds to my anxiety and depression. It is only through counseling that I have been able to attend the court hearings through out the past three years. Each court date and numerous court continuances physically and emotionally drained me. I relive July 14th, 2004 each time I attend court and it takes days to recooperate, but I felt I had to come to court each time for my Lizzie.
Before Liz’s death I was a person who loved people and always tried to help others in need. I was always smiling and trying to give people a lift during a difficult time, now all I am trying to do is walk step by step through life, doing what I need to do just to exist. The bond between my fiancé Scott and I was inseparable for the first two years after discovering Liz’s body on that day. We supported each other in what we went through together finding Liz’s body, however as time passes by, living daily in our grief and pain has begun to pull us apart. The future we hoped for may not be. My daughters and I will never be the Four Musketeers again without Liz, but I pray that my relationship with Stephanie and Courtney will come back. It seems like I am on the outside looking in and not a part of it at all. I pray in time that will change. I have not had any sense of peace or serenity since the day that silenced the angelic voice of our Lizzie forever.
Thank you to all our family, friends, and the community through this nightmare. Thank you Judge Booras for listening.