Darien Murdered

Nodarse A suspect in the triple murder of a family in west suburban Darien is behind bars, was arrested Wednesday afternoon in south Florida, authorities said.

Jacob Nodarse, 23, of Clarendon Hills, was sleeping in a van outside his parents’ house in Lehigh Acres, Fla., when police and deputy U.S. marshals arrested him at about 4 p.m. Wednesday, officials said.

Jeffrey Kramer, 50; his wife Lori, 49; and their son Michael, 20 were found shot to death in their upscale home in the Tara Hill subdivision of Darien on Monday.

Investigators have not spoken publicly about a motive for the killings.

However, the Daily Herald reports Thursday that authorities are investigating a link between Nodarse and Angela Kramer’s ex-boyfriend. Sources told the paper several search warrants–including warrants for both men’s bank and cell phone records-have been issued.

Court records show the ex-boyfriend had been involved in a bitter visitation battle with Angela Kramer–the daughter and sister of the victims–over their child, a 13-month-old boy. They share custody.

Police have said the ex-boyfriend is not a suspect.

Sources told the Chicago Sun-Times that the ex-boyfriend called police Tuesday morning saying he saw news coverage of the killings on TV and wanted to know whether Angela Kramer was OK.

The Daily Herald reports the ex-boyfriend offered an alibi: sources said he claimed he was gambling at a riverboat at 3 a.m. the morning of the murders.

Nodarse was the subject of a manhunt after Darien Police early today issued an alert that he might have fled to Florida in a BMW.

The Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force — comprised of U.S. Marshals, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Lee County Sheriff’s office, contacted his family, who were cooperative and told them Nodarse was sleeping outside his parents’ home in a minivan, according to Deputy U.S. Marshal Rick Jessup.