Hanover Park residents gather to remember victim

A Hanover Park police squad car sat outside Evangel Church on Tuesday night, as a show of support, Mayor Rodney Craig said, for the prayer vigil that took place inside.

Residents from across the village gathered in the Hanover Park worship center to pray for peace and hope, in light of the murder on Thursday of 56-year old Vatsala Thakkar.

The Hanover Park resident was the only employee working in a discount store, located near the Evangel Church, when she was fatally stabbed during a robbery attempt.

Betty Villarreal of Hanover Park regularly shops in the store where the murder took place and she remembers seeing Thakkar there from when it first opened.

"It's terrible," Villarreal said. "I just hope that everything will get better, that nothing like this ever happens again."

Church leaders joined with officials from nearby Living Christ Lutheran Church, to hold the prayer service, on a night typically reserved for their Thanksgiving service.

"The things that happened here should not have happened," said Pastor Jennie Swanson of Living Christ Lutheran Church. "We're all hurting in different ways. We're all grieving. ... But if we stay by each other's side as a community, we're not going to fall. We'll be OK."

Evangel Church Pastor Ron Heitman described the evening more as a faith response to the recent tragedy, and a call to action, rather than mounting a stand on stemming the tide of violence.

"Our goal is to provide a night of hope and peace for the community," Heitman said, "to bring people together, and to have a call to action."

The service drew nearly 300 people, including village leaders such as Craig and District 20 Elementary District Superintendent, Carol Auer, as well as members of the Thakkar family.

During the service, prayers were offered for Thakkar's husband, three children and 10-day old grandson.

Craig called the service a positive response from the community, but he said village leaders need to do more to protect its residents. He called for the return of the crime prevention board, and seven more police officers, despite the village's mounting budget concerns.

"I'm going to start making demands," Craig said before the worship began. "We've got to find a way for people in this community to feel safe in their homes, and where they work."

The evening opened with worshippers singing "Amazing Grace" with members of the church's praise band before listening to scripture passages and saying prayers for peace.

A candle-lighting ceremony took place near the end of the 90-minute service, as those in the audience sang, "God of This City."

Meanwhile, the man and two teens accused of the crime appeared early Tuesday in DuPage County bond court. They are charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery.

Jerry Lockhart, 39, and Dewaun Tate, 17, were ordered held on $2 million bonds. The third defendant, Seneca Berry, 15, who is being tried as an adult, has a $1 million bond.

Prosecutors say the trio fled with $135 after fatally stabbing Thakkar in the back about 1:30 p.m. Thursday inside the discount store she managed at 5662 Arlington Drive East.

Thakkar, who was working alone that day, stumbled out the front door and collapsed. A passer-by called 911.

"This was a particularly coldblooded and heinous act," prosecutor Mary K. Cronin told DuPage Associate Judge Brian Diamond while seeking the high bonds. "The defendants planned an armed robbery and committed it in broad daylight."

Authorities said they were led to the trio after interviewing witnesses at a nearby fast-food restaurant and other strip mall businesses who placed them in the area at the time of the crime.

Cronin said police detectives obtained videotaped statements during their weekend interviews with the defendants.

The discount store, which opened at that location months ago, did not have a surveillance camera operating during the robbery.

All three defendants have criminal pasts and live within blocks of the strip mall. In fact, Cronin said Berry recently was suspended from Lake Park East High School in Roselle. She said Tate also wasn't enrolled in classes.

Lockhart, a subcontractor, is due to be arraigned Dec. 22 before DuPage Circuit Judge John Kinsella. Both Tate and Berry will be arraigned Dec. 23 before DuPage Circuit Judge Perry Thompson. The defendants must post the required 10 percent of their bond to be released.