Posted on 07/03/2010 9:03:06 AM PDT by STARWISE
An acclaimed pediatric heart surgeon shot and critically wounded his estranged wife in their Elmhurst home early Friday, then shot himself to death, authorities said.
The 7 a.m. shootings that killed 52-year-old Dr. Hani Hennein and wounded his wife, Julia Hennein, came barely a month after she had filed for divorce and sought an order of protection against her husband of 30 years, court records show.
The couple’s two youngest children were in the house when the shootings occurred but neither was injured, Elmhurst police said.
Julia Hennein, also 52, was being treated for her wound at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.
She had filed for divorce on June 1, alleging in court documents that her husband was “mentally and physically abusive” to her and to their two youngest daughters, who are 16 and 14.
That divorce filing came only three days after Dr. Hennein was arrested for misdemeanor battery for allegedly striking his 16-year-old daughter twice in the head with his hand.
Hennein was released after posting $100 bail, and that charge was still pending.
After filing for divorce, Julia Hennein was given exclusive rights to the family’s Elmhurst home and physical custody of the couple’s two youngest children, but Dr. Hennein was allowed supervised visits with those children at least once a week.
He also was allowed to spend Father’s Day with them.
The couple also has two older children, a 22-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son, records indicate.
Julia Hennein initially had sought an order of protection against her husband when she filed for divorce, which allowed him to contact her only to discuss their children. But court records appear to indicate that order was vacated on June 17.
Attorneys involved in the divorce could not be reached Friday for comment.
The Henneins had lived on the quiet suburban street for only a few months, neighbors said. The parents were rarely seen, but the children were frequently outside and often had friends over.
“They’ve had disturbances there before,” said Jacie Verdak, a 15-year-old who lives across the street. A few weeks ago, she saw the police outside the house, and a daughter, whom she knew from school, was outside crying.
Two nights ago, Verdak said her sister saw Hennein walking around his garage and driveway, talking to himself.
Frank Connell, 15, was friends with the daughter and often at the house, but never saw the father.
“She was afraid of her father,” Connell said. “He was coming home, and she wanted us to stay because she was afraid of what might happen.” Later she changed her mind and asked them to leave.
Another teen who visited the home, David Quaglia, said of the mother, “She was a nice lady, she was protective of her daughters.”
The Henneins lived in a newly built home, the largest on the block. They had not yet fully unpacked, but art objects reflecting their Egyptian heritage, including a gold plate painted with images of pharaohs, were displayed prominently.
Quaglia said he still has trouble believing what happened to people he knows. “Imagine if we were there when something happened, I wouldn't the know what I would do.”
Hani Hennein’s body was found in the garage of the home, with a handgun nearby, a law enforcement source said.
He had a single gunshot wound to the head, the source said.
A pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, Hani Hennein had been a faculty member in the surgery department at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health since August 2009.
“We learned of it late this morning. Obviously, it’s very tragic, and we’re still getting information in,” said Lisa Brunette, a spokeswoman for the university’s health department.
Before holding that post, Hennein was the director of surgical research at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland. In 2008, he was profiled in a “Best Doctors” article in Cleveland Magazine.
Hennein was also listed as a new doctor at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village, according to a December 2009 hospital newsletter.
Hennein treated children and some adults born with congenital heart and lung defects, according to the magazine article, sometimes operating on newborns’ hearts that were about the size of a thumb tip.
He noted for the article that treating children requires a special touch.
“Treating children requires special consideration for the crowd of people who come with that child, from parents and siblings to pediatricians and nurses,” he said in the article. “They are all emotionally invested in that child.”
ROP ?
How long will it be before they try to blame the Supreme Court?!
******
betcha dollars to doughnuts...
Two dead muslims. All’s well that ends well.
Islam sure worked it’s miracle here. /sarc
This can't happen in Chicago! The new gun law says you can't take your gun out of the house -— you can't even have it in the garage!
You can take the boy out of Dar al-Islam, but you can’t take Dar al-Islam out of the boy.
Sorry to disappoint you, but the wife who was after all the victim in this crime, is still alive.
Thankfully, his wife survived and is undergoing treatment.
Lord bless her with healing .. shot in the face, per below.
~~~~~~~
His estranged wife, Julia Hennein, 52, was found shot in the face. She underwent surgery at Loyola University Hospital in Maywood. A family member said she was expected to survive the shooting.
Check the Mohammed Atta stone cold, dead eyes.
All that education, and still a monster. Not much different from the Saudi doctors who cheered as news reports of the 9/11 planes was broadcast in the kingdom. Education, success, and expensive suits can’t undo violent emotions and their origins.
Yes. That has to be a very stressful profession. It's so sad that he took such good care of others and let his own life get so out of control. Prayers for his family. Hope they can resolve all the issues they will be dealing with, and find peace.
I'm remembering Dr. Jonathan Drummond-Webb, a wonderful, caring pediatric heart surgeon at AR Children's Hospital, who committed suicide in 2004. He was only 45.
Ironic that the heart surgeon didn’t have a heart when it came to shooting people — or maybe the pain he suffered from love (a heart attack?) was too great. Physician heal thy self.
I feel really bad for their younger children. I hope the 22 year old daughter has the ability, and the desire to take them. Maybe they'll stay in this country and not get infected with the idiocy in the Middle East.
I have three clients that are Egyptian born medical doctors.
Coptic Christians, they are.
I’d be a little reserved before jumping to conclusions.
At the time of 9/11/2001 it was pointed out that the majority of Arabs in America were Christians.
BTW I have seen “Hani” as a name among these Christian folks, but names aren’t all of it.
I concur with you.
I have known Arab Chrisians named Hani, and I don’t think his last name “Hennein” is Muslim.
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