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Man, 79, charged with murdering neighbour over using leaf blower
Published 16:37 27 Apr 2023 BST
Updated 16:51 27 Apr 2023 BST
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'Easy access to firearms has turned a dispute into a deadly crime'
A 79-year-old man has been charged with murdering his neighbour because he was using a leaf blower in his yard.
Ettore Lacchei, had “various perceived grievances” with the victim, 59-year-old William Martys, who lived next door to him in Antioch, Illinois, the Lake County Sheriff's Office said.
That turned tragic on 12 April when the two men argued over the noise the power tool was making, resulting in Ettore shooting William in the head.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Reinhart said the incident was another example of how “easy access to firearms has turned a dispute into a deadly crime”.
Anitoch police said Ettore is now being held without bond, ABC7 reported.
The force said they were called to a home in the 40700-block of North Black Oak Drive just after 7:30pm to a report of an unresponsive man in a driveway
The broadcaster reported that employees of William's constriction company had called police after arriving at his home.
He was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where he was pronounced dead.
Ettore has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Police said the likely murder weapon was found near Ettore's property line.
The pensioner was arrested Tuesday and appeared in court where he was denied bail.
ABC quoted a neighbour, JR McCarty, as saying the pair had a history of conflict, and claimed Ettore had pulled a gun previously.
"No one deserves anything like that and it's just kind of crazy to think that someone can just break like that over just a simple argument that can be fixed just talking," he said.
Prosecutors said in court that the accused had planned to travel to Italy and likely would have been out of the country if police had tried to arrest him any later.
He is due to re-appear in court next month.
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