Husband and wife lawyers found dead under ‘suspicious circumstances’ in Chicago area home

ABC news (USA) reports….. Thomas Johnson, 69, and Leslie Jones, 67, were found in their Oak Park home on Monday night while police were conducting a welfare check.

A husband and his wife, both lawyers, were found dead Monday night in their Chicago area home.

Authorities discovered the bodies of Thomas Johnson, 69, and Leslie Jones, 67, at around 7:30 p.m. while conducting a welfare check at their Oak Park home.

Police said that “preliminary information gathered at the scene indicates suspicious circumstances” and it does not appear that the deaths were self-inflicted.

“On behalf of the Oak Park Police Department, I want to offer our condolences to the family and friends of Ms. Jones and her husband, Mr. Johnson, both of whom are known in the community and beyond,” Police Chief LaDon Reynolds said in a statement.

Reynolds said he does not believe there is a threat to the public but out of an abundance of caution patrol cars have increased in the area.

Johnson and Jones were attorneys at the Johnson, Jones, Snelling, Gilbert & Davis law firm in Chicago, about 9 miles outside of Oak Park.

A bio for Jones on the firm’s website states that she specialized in federal litigation, real estate and corporate transactions and zoning.

Johnson, who founded the firm, played a crucial role in establishing affordable housing in Chicago and “in securing justice for coal miners, truck drivers and others in the labor movement,” his bio reads.

He also helped reform Chicago’s voter registration and worked with many officeholders, including former President Barack Obama, according to the law firm.

Phillip Snelling, an attorney who worked with the couple, said the deaths are a tragedy for the firm and the community.

Source:  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/husband-wife-lawyers-found-dead-under-suspicious-circumstances-chicago-area-n1184331