Chicago Heights man indicted in girlfriend’s death
By Casey Toner ctoner@southtownstar.com August 15, 2012 8:02PM
George Kleopa
Updated: September 17, 2012 1:11PM
A Chicago Heights man charged with shooting his girlfriend to death in March was indicted Wednesday, court records show.
George Kleopa, 33, was charged in July with first-degree murder in the death of Michele Peters, who was killed March 6 at their home in the 100 block of West Hickory Street in Chicago Heights.
The couple lived together 14 years and had two children.
Prosecutors said that a witness heard Peters and Kleopa arguing about Kleopa seeing another woman, and Kleopa shot Peters in the head, killing her about 10 p.m. and then calling 911 to report that Peters shot herself.
Kleopa first told police that he asked Peters to bring him his gun — a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol — to clean it and it accidentally fired, prosecutors said. But police couldn’t find a gun-cleaning kit. Kleopa later changed his story, saying he asked Peters to bring him his gun and it accidentally discharged, prosecutors said.
Kleopa, who is free after posting a $200,000 bond, is to be arraigned Aug. 28 at the Markham courthouse, according to court records.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Darron Bowden last month set Kleopa’s bail at $2 million and made him surrender his passports.
