Police: Husband-wife lawyers found dead under ‘suspicious circumstances’ in Chicago-area home

OAK PARK, Ill. — A prominent couple, both lawyers, were found dead in their home Monday night in a Chicago-area suburb, and investigators said the circumstances are suspicious in nature.

Thomas E. Johnson, 69, and Leslie Ann Jones, 67, were found dead around 7:30 p.m. Monday by Oak Park police officers conducting a welfare check at their home in the 500 block of Fair Oaks Avenue.

“Preliminary information gathered at the scene indicates that the deaths occurred under suspicious circumstances,” Oak Park Police Chief LaDon Reynolds said in a video news release. “However, none of the injuries appear to be self-inflicted.”

Neighbors were stunned by the deaths.

“They were the best neighbors,” Jeanne Gallo, who lived across the street from the family for more than two decades, told The Chicago Tribune. “They were compassionate, they were welcoming, and they were interested in helping people. They were not ‘me’ or ‘I’ people. They were ‘you’ and ‘we’ people.”

Johnson and Jones were partners at the Chicago law firm Johnson Jones Snelling Gilbert & Davis PC. Johnson founded the firm more than three decades ago, according to the firm’s website.

“Tom and Leslie were both exceptionally gifted lawyers,” Anne Davis, a partner at the firm, told the Tribune. “Part of their gift was to keep it simple. Each of them could process complicated information with exceptional speed and agility, but they each had interests far beyond the law and each had a profound gift for friendship.”

Johnson was perhaps most well-known for his work as a hearing officer for the Chicago Police Board, through which he was involved in several high-profile Chicago police misconduct cases.

According to board officials, Johnson, who served on the police board since 1991, presided over more than 350 administrative disciplinary cases, including the case of Laquan McDonald. The 17-year-old black teen was shot and killed by police Oct. 20, 2014, on a Chicago street.

Johnson oversaw the hearings of four officers accused of covering up what took place that night. Dashboard camera footage released in 2015 proved the officers lied about McDonald’s actions before the shooting.

The former officer who killed McDonald, Jason Van Dyke, was convicted in 2018 of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery -- one count for each of the bullets he fired at the teen, The Associated Press reported.

“Tom was an outstanding hearing officer and a wonderful man,” Police Board President Ghian Foreman said in a statement Tuesday. “All of us on the board admired and respected Tom’s deep knowledge of the law and commitment to fairness. His work was of the highest caliber.

“Most importantly, he was in our eyes and by all accounts a thoughtful, kind, and caring man. We will miss him greatly, and offer our prayers and condolences to Tom and Leslie’s sons and family.”

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Reynolds, the Oak Park chief, also offered sympathy to Johnson and Jones’ loved ones.

“Let me say, on behalf of the Oak Park Police Department, I want to offer our condolences to the family and friends of the two victims, both of whom are known in the community and beyond,” Reynolds said.

The chief said investigators have reached out to the West Suburban Major Crimes Task Force for help, which will offer detectives access to the expertise and resources of agencies across the region.

The scene is still considered active, Reynolds said, and it will remain that way until all pertinent information is obtained.

There is no information suggesting that the community at large is in danger, the chief said. Patrols and police visibility have been increased, however, out of an abundance of caution.

“For some, it may be difficult to understand why we cannot provide more information right now,” Reynolds said. “But understand the number one priority at this time must be ensuring the integrity and thoroughness of the investigation.”

According to his bio on their law firm’s website, Johnson practiced law for more than 40 years.

“Tom Johnson has litigated at every level of the state and federal court system and before numerous administrative agencies,” Johnson’s bio states. “He has played a pivotal role in the development of affordable housing in Chicago, and in securing justice for coal miners, truck drivers and others in the labor movement.”

Also among Johnson’s accomplishments was serving as a special commissioner for the U.S. District Court in Chicago and as a hearing officer for the Illinois State Police Merit Board.

“He has spent considerable time seeking to reform Chicago’s voter registration and electoral system, and in doing so, has represented numerous local, state and federal office holders, including President Barack Obama and the late Mayor Harold Washington,” his bio states.

Jones, a former clinic fellow at Northwestern Law School, specialized in federal litigation, real estate and corporate transactions and zoning, her bio says.

Both Johnson and Jones were graduates of Harvard Law School.

The couple was mourned by friends on social media. Dan Herbert of the Herbert Law Firm called their deaths “devastating news.”

The Tribune reported that Herbert, who represents Chicago police officers, defended many cases in front of Johnson as he sat on the police board.

“Tom Johnson and his wife, Leslie Ann Jones, were both brilliant lawyers, selfless humanitarians and personal friends,” Herbert wrote on Facebook. “The world is a much better place because of them.”

“Wow. Just talked to Tom not even two months ago, and Leslie was one of the kindest people I’ve ever met,” Joseph Wesley Brown wrote. “Together, they helped a bunch of sweaty, loud, knucklehead high school wrestlers grow into proud young men. This is truly devastating to see. My heart goes out to the Johnsons right now.”

Cox Media Group