Hazel Crest man charged with murdering girlfriend
BY SUSAN DEMAR LAFFERTY slafferty@southtownstar.com September 10, 2012 3:46PM
Updated: October 12, 2012 6:10AM
A Hazel Crest man has been charged with the early morning Labor Day murder of his girlfriend.
Shelley Gaston, 41, of 18166 Kedzie Ave., was charged with first-degree murder Thursday and is being held in Cook County Jail, Hazel Crest Police Detective Sgt. Anthony Gray said Monday.
Erika Ellison, 35, was found in the parking lot of the apartment complex at that address, and was pronounced dead at 5:02 a.m. at Christ Medical Center of multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Gray said evidence at the scene, along with witness accounts, led police to Gaston, who was apprehended later that morning at 95th Street and the Dan Ryan Expressway.
Ellison was a former resident of the apartment and had been visiting Gaston, he said.
“It appears to be a domestic situation,” Gray said.
Gaston had no prior record, and there were no previous police calls to that address, he said.
The large-caliber handgun has not yet been recovered, Gray said.
