Natural Life Sentence Ordered in 1978 Downers Grove Double Homicide

DuPage County State’s Attorney Joseph E. Birkett announced today that Billy Lee Warren, 54 (d.o.b. 3/13/51), of 4213 Wenonah of Stickney was sentenced today to Natural Life for the 1978 double homicide of a Downers Grove couple. In late January, a DuPage County Jury found Warren guilty of the First Degree Murders of both Glenn and Betty Schulz on May 17, 1978. The couple, both age 52, was found dead in their home at 1051 68th Street in Downers Grove.

The Schulz murders had remained unsolved for 23 years when in late 2000 the Downers Grove Police Department began an intensive review of the case, meeting once a month with approximately fifteen (15) staff members of the Department and the Cold Case Review Team from Birkett’s Office. During the course of pursuing old leads, interviews uncovered information that lead to Warren’s September 2001 arrest.

Testimony during the two week trial revealed that on the morning of May 17th in 1978, the son-in-law of Glenn and Betty Schulz arrived to pick up his two children, ages 2 and 5, who had spent the night at their grandparents’ home. What he discovered was the viciously murdered bodies of his in-laws in the bedroom of their Downers Grove home. Both Glenn and Betty’s hands and feet had been bound, and Glenn had been gagged. Each had been stabbed multiple times. The two grandchildren were found unharmed in the residence. For 23 years the case remained active yet unsolved until 2001 when the Downers Grove Police Department began to intensify its investigation. During the course of re-interviewing witnesses, Warren’s 1978 alibi disintegrated, and following additional investigation, he was charged with the 1978 murders.

Warren had worked at the Wilbert Burial Vault Company in Broadview where Glenn Schulz served as his supervisor. Testimony during the January trial revealed that Warren secretly entered the Schulz home during the evening of May 16, 1978 bound and gagged Glenn and Betty, then stabbed them multiple times, thereby causing their deaths.

"Justice has finally been served for Glenn and Betty," State’s Attorney Birkett declared. "Nearly 27 years ago, this family suffered the most horrific day of their lives when they discovered the brutally murdered bodies of Glenn and Betty, stabbed to death by an unknown assailant. They were troubled for decades, not certain who had done this to their loved ones, yet they hoped that someday their assailant would be held accountable for their heinous deaths. Thanks to the tremendous efforts of the jury, the powerful victim impact statements of the victims’ daughters, and my Assistant State’s Attorneys Jeff Kendall, Jane Radostits and Liam Brennan, Glenn and Betty may finally rest in peace."

State’s Attorney Birkett further praised the members of the Downers Grove Police Department for an outstanding job in the solving of this 23 year old cold case. "If not for the dedication of the Downers Grove Police Department, Billy Lee Warren would be walking around a free man today. Instead, he is will spend the rest of his days behind bars for what he did to this couple."

Warren will remain in the custody of the DuPage County Jail in Wheaton until he transferred to the Illinois Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.

"Justice has been served here today," State’s Attorney Birkett reiterated. "Glenn and Betty Schulz may finally rest in peace."