Chris Angel Murphy

September 30, 2010

Southtown Star, Sun-Times Media

Allan Kustok has been charged with murder in the death of his wife, Anita, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office said.

The Kustoks are the parents of  Comcast SportsNet reporter Sarah Kustok and former Northwestern star quarterback Zak Kustok.

Anita Kustok, 58, was found dead at her home in Orland Park on Wednesday with a single gunshot wound to the head. Her death was ruled a homicide earlier Thursday by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

In a news release, Orland Park Police Cmdr. John Keating said police received a call from Palos Community Hospital about 7 a.m. about a woman who was brought to the hospital by a family member and had suffered a gunshot wound to her head. He said she was dead on arrival at the hospital.

Sources said she was driven to the hospital by her husband, Allan, who was being questioned by police.

Ninety minutes passed between the time she was shot and the time she arrived at the hospital, sources said.

At about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, investigators walked out of the Kustok home with two brown paper bags, got into an unmarked police car and drove off. Officers then took down the police tape and left.

Allan Kustok was captain of the Mendel high school football team when it won the Prep Bowl in 1968. He was a letter winner on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign football team in 1972 and 1973. He played offensive tackle.

His wife taught at Central Elementary School in Riverside.

She was remembered Wednesday as a special teacher who was adored by her students at Central Elementary School in Riverside.

“She is a beautiful person with a beautiful heart,’’ said Dr. Janice Limperis, the school’s principal. “If anyone had a problem, she would find a positive way to look at it. We are devastated here. Her students are inconsolable. It’s like losing a family member.”

Limperis described Kustok as “vivacious’’ and “outgoing’’ and said she had been with the school district for seven years.

This was Kustok’s first year at Central and she taught math and reading to third- through fifth-grades students in a gifted  program called “Quest,’’ Limperis said. Kustok previously taught at the district’s Hollywood School, Limperis said.

Orland Park police and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force are investigating the death, police said.

She is the mother of Sarah and Zak, both former star athletes at Sandburg High School. Sarah played basketball at DePaul University, and Zak played quarterback for Northwestern University.

Sarah was the Sun-Times high school girls basketball player of the year in 2000. She was a member of a state champion girls volleyball team in 1999.

SportsNet released a statement saying, “We are all deeply saddened by this tragic news.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Sarah and her family.’’