Man fatally stabbed in Hoffman Estates apartment complex, cops say

A 38-year-old man was found dead in his Hoffman Estates apartment early Wednesday, apparently a victim of stab wounds after an altercation.

Terrance Hauser was pronounced dead at 4:16 a.m. Wednesday at his first-floor unit inside the Barrington Lakes apartment complex along Hassell Road, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

"It appeared that he died of multiple stab wounds," Hoffman Estates police Lt. Rich Russo said.

A formal autopsy is planned for today, the medical examiner's office said. A weapon, which police wouldn't identify, was also found in the deceased's apartment, Russo said.

Police do not believe there is any lingering threat to residents and that all parties involved are accounted for.

That includes a 29-year-old man police are questioning in connection with the death, Russo said. The man lived in a different building within the same complex and suffered a cut to his arm inside the dead man's apartment. He told police he was involved in a fight, Russo added.

Wednesday afternoon, yellow police tape cordoned off the unit while police did forensic work, including marking off a trail of blood in the parking lot with orange fluorescent traffic cones.

Police continue to investigate with the assistance of the Major Crime Assistance Team, and Russo said he's awaiting word from the Cook County state's attorney's office to determine if any charges would be filed.

The man police are questioning had called 911 around 4 a.m. and was taken to St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, where he was treated and released for the cut, Russo said.

When police arrived later at the man's apartment, they found the trail of blood droplets that stained the complex's black asphalt parking lot, Russo said. The trail extended from the man's apartment building for several hundred feet, ending at the 38-year-old's apartment, where police found the corpse, Russo said.

Barrington Lakes property manager Adnan Darr said he's fielded some calls from concerned residents. He's spoken to police and said he wanted to stress there was no immediate threat to residents.

"This was an isolated incident, not a random act of violence," Darr said.

He said the complex was built in 1973 and contains 790 units with 28 buildings. Darr said the complex is quiet, an assessment Russo supported, saying police would only respond to an occasional car theft in the complex's parking lot.

One complex resident, Dennis Lockrey, said he woke up startled this afternoon, greeted by police outside his door.

"It's kind of scary," Lockrey said.

He's lived in his unit for 15 years, and said there's an occasional noise complaint fielded but that his building is relatively peaceful. He said he slept soundly Tuesday night and had no inclination of any commotion.

The last homicide reported in Hoffman Estates was in February 2006, Russo said. That's when a 31-year-old man ran over his estranged 27-year-old wife in an SUV outside the Park Place Apartments on the 1000 block of Atlantic Avenue. Martin McCoy was later convicted of murder.