From 1995: Court records reveal confession in killing of dairy heiress, 2 others

Shortly after Donald F. Lippert was apprehended by authorities this week, he confessed he was involved in three Aurora murders, it was revealed in court Friday. One of the alleged victims, dairy company heiress Mary Jill Oberweis, 56, was gunned down inside her Felden Road house in October 1993. Another, 24-year-old Jerry David Weber was shot four times in the head April 16, 1992, as part of an armed robbery near his residence near the DuPage-Kane county line in Aurora. And, sources close to the case said, Lippert allegedly admitted to taking part in the murder of 76-year-old Virginia Johannessen, who was shot to death in her Felden Road home in January 1992. Another man was convicted in February of Johannessen’s murder and is serving a 60-year prison sentence for the crime. DuPage County prosecutor Phil Montgomery detailed Lippert’s confession in the Weber case, the only one he has been charged in, during a hearing Friday morning before Judge John J. Nelligan, who denied Lippert bond. Montgomery told the judge Lippert had confessed to taking part in Oberweis’ killing and also confessed to a third murder, but did not elaborate. Neither Kane County State’s Attorney David Akemann nor Sheriff Kenneth Ramsey would confirm that Lippert, of Woodridge, had confessed to the Johannessen slaying. But they conceded they learned new information about the Johannessen murder from Lippert and another man, Edward L. Tenney, 35, Aurora, who was arrested Tuesday night and charged in Oberweis’ murder. There were many similarities between the murders of Weber, Oberweis and Johannessen, especially the location of the crimes. Oberweis and Johannessen lived only a few houses from each other, and Weber was shot to death in a field about a mile from the same affluent neighborhood. Kane County Assistant Public Defender Regina Harris represented 34-year-old Lionel Lane, of Aurora, who was convicted of murdering Johannessen. Harris said she and co-counsel Don Zuelke still believe Lane is innocent. “We still talk about that trial. We can’t believe he was convicted,” Harris said. An appeal of Lane’s murder conviction is pending. Harris said she believes her client is innocent because there were no fingerprints, blood samples or other pieces of physical evidence that directly linked him to Johannessen’s killing. Lane, who had prior residential burglary convictions, was found guilty of the Johannessen murder based largely on the testimony of a former girlfriend and another man who each said Lane confessed to killing Johannessen. The man said Lane confessed while they were in jail together, Harris said. Ackemann said he will surrender to Lane’s attorneys any new information he receives about the Johannessen murder. Lippert was arrested late Tuesday night by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation violent crimes task force. Montgomery presented Lippert’s confession in the Weber killing to support his request that Lippert be held without bond while the murder charge is pending. Lippert was being held in the DuPage County jail. Tenney, who was denied bail earlier this week by a Kane County judge, remains in the county jail. Neither Lippert nor Tenney have been charged with murdering Johannessen. Montgomery said Lippert told police he and Tenney were driving near Sheffer and Vaughn roads when they saw Weber attempting to get his van out of a muddy field. According to Lippert’s confession, Tenney fired one shot into Weber and attempted to fire more, but his gun jammed, Montgomery said. Tenney asked for Lippert’s weapon and was able to fire three more shots at Weber, he said. The two then fled the area with an unknown amount of cash taken from Weber, Montgomery said. Last year, Lippert was convicted of an August 1993 car burglary in a Warrenville subdivision and of burglarizing a Warrenville apartment and hitting a resident with a board in November 1993. For those crimes, he was sentenced to five years of probation, 90 days of periodic imprisonment and ordered to undergo alcohol abuse treatment. In a letter to the judge before he was sentenced, Lippert said he was an alcoholic and that it was hard for him to cope with his problem. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the DuPage murder charge May 25.