Chicago cop, Dina Markham, found dead in possible suicide two years after her sergeant husband’s death was also ruled a suicide – Just as Feds start probing husband’s death
47-year-old Chicago police officer, Dina Markham, was found dead Sunday in a possible suicide
A family member found the 22-year veteran officer unresponsive in the bathtub after ingesting pills
Her husband, police sergeant Donald Markham, 51, reportedly shot himself in Sept 2015
Officer Dina Markham said her husband had locked her out of their home after they had been drinking and argued after leaving a bar
The mother-of-five said she was let in by another family member
Searching for her keys in “The master bedroom [that] was illuminated with ambient lighting, [she] observed Donald on the bed, on his side, back towards her”
She felt the outside of his pockets she said, looking for her keys, felt moisture on her hands, realized it was blood and called 911
“Upon further observations of Donald, it appeared that he had shot himself in the head,” her statement read
The suicide weapon was not Donald’s service weapon, but belonged to him and “there was no suspicion of foul play”
FBI and the city’s inspector recently started probing the investigation of the Donald Markham suicide
Days before her death, Dina Markham told Chicago Sun-Times she was unaware of the fresh investigation
Chicago Police Officer Dina Markham was found dead on Sunday of an apparent suicide
Cops say Dina Markham was found by a family member in her bathtub on Sunday after taking pills, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Her death is being investigated as a suicide.
It is believed that 51-year-old Chicago police sergeant, Donald Markham, killed himself in September of 2015 following an argument with his wife.
Sgt. Markham’s death was ruled a suicide. However, an officer questioned how evidence was gathered.
At the time Dina Markham said her husband had locked her out of their home after they had been drinking and argued after leaving a bar at about 1 a.m.
In her statement Dina said she discovered her husband dead in their bed after one of her children let her in the house.
Dina Markham and Don Markham. The couple both in law enforcement, allegedly killed themselves.
According to a police report obtained by the Sun-Times, she went to look for her keys in “The master bedroom [that] was illuminated with ambient lighting and she observed Donald laying on the bed, on his side with his back towards her,” the report read.
“Dina continued looking for her key unsuccessfully. Dina felt the outside of Donald’s pockets, again looking for her keys and felt moisture on her hands. Dina realized the moisture was blood and called 911 for assistance.
“Upon further observations of Donald, it appeared that he had shot himself in the head.”
A detective said the gun used by Donald Markham was not his service weapon, but it belonged to him.
“There was no history of suicidal ideations or suicide attempts and no suicide note was found on scene,” the report states.
In addition, the detective wrote “there was no suspicion of foul play.”
The Sun-Times reports that police removed the body of the 51-year-old narcotics cop from the home in the upscale Old Norwood Park neighborhood on the city’s Far Northwest Side, of Chicago, before a Cook County medical examiner’s investigator could view the scene, which is standard procedure.
Records show that even though Donald Markham was pronounced dead at 3:34 a.m., the medical examiner’s office was not contacted until nearly 5:30 a.m., at which point the body was already being removed from the home.
Records also showed Dina Markham calling 911 at 3:12 a.m. and tolling the operator that an off-duty police officer was “bleeding from his head” and needed an ambulance, but refusing to answer questions as to what happened or whether he was breathing, then hanging up.
Dina and husband, sergeant Don Markham, of Chicago PD, before the spate of suicides claimed husband and wife, 2 years apart.
The FBI and the city’s Inspector General ,months ago, opened a new ongoing investigation into how Donald Markham’s death was handled, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Just days before her death, Dina Markham wrote the Sun-Times denying awareness of the new probe.
“I’d like to talk to you, but I’m not sure it’s in my best interest,” she told the newspaper on May 22. “Give me a day to process this.”
Two days later she told the newspaper: “I have to protect myself. I have to protect my children. That’s what this is all about.”
And then the following day, she emailed the Sun-Times.
“In respect for the way you approached me, a friend of a friend will be in contact with you,” she wrote. “I am unsure who that will be at this time, but he assured me he will follow through. My family and I have been through very difficult times, and it has been awful especially for my children. Should you proceed in writing a news story, I would appreciate a ‘heads-up’ to prepare them.”
Dina Markham with some of her children. They couple shared five kids
A family lawyer wrote in a statement to the Sun-Times on Wednesday that “our primary focus at this time is on Don and Dina’s five children.”
“While this article includes some information that may be accurate, there are many things presented that are inaccurate or incomplete,” read the statement. “Further, the family strongly refutes any suggestion, implication or allegation that Dina was responsible for Don’s death.
“With respect to any investigation that may have been pending, Dina had not been in contact with anyone conducting such investigation and only had heard rumors and third-hand accounts,” the statement continued.
“We were trying to get information on this at the time of Dina’s death. Dina was prepared to address any question with the strength and resolve she is known for. As reflected in the email she sent to you, her sole focus was as it always has been — on the well being of her kids.”
Former Chicago police Lt. Denis P. Walsh handled the investigation into the death of Sgt. Don Markham
One of the highest-ranking department members to respond to the scene on the morning of Donald Markham’s death was then-Lt. Denis Walsh of Area North, the police records show. Notably, Walsh resigned last year as the department sought to fire him for his role in the investigation into David Koschman, a suburban man who died after being punched by a nephew of then-Mayor Richard M. Daley’s in 2004.
He was accused in a special prosecutor’s report of removing the original file on the Koschman case from his office “with no legitimate work purpose.”
Walsh notified the department’s Internal Affairs Division about the death, which would be routine in the case of an officer’s apparent suicide, at 4:55 a.m. that day.
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