Original article no longer available
Chicago Tribune
February 15, 2007
By ANDRE SALLES Staff Writer
GENEVA — Last month, two bodies were found in the Fox River within one day of each other.
Wednesday, a coroner’s jury ruled both unrelated cases suicides.
Constance M. Soukup, 42, of the 42W400 block of Foxfield Drive, St. Charles, was found floating in the river just south of the Fabyan Parkway Bridge in Batavia Township at 7:08 a.m. on Jan. 5. She was pronounced dead at the scene less than 90 minutes later, according to Kane County Coroner Chuck West.
According to Kane County Sheriff’s Detective Steve Reitmeyer, Soukup’s car later was located in a parking lot near the Geneva dam, and inside officers found a suicide note.
According to the coroner’s office, toxicology tests came back positive for anti-depression and anti-anxiety medication, along with sleep aids.
The cause of death was listed as drowning.
One day earlier, the body of James R. Worley, 57, of the 400 block of Offutt Lane, North Aurora, was found floating in the river just a few yards from his home. Worley had been reported missing since Dec. 12, according to North Aurora police Officer David Parr.
He was found with a gunshot wound to his head, and two five-pound weights tied around his neck, according to police. A handgun, which police believe to be his own, was discovered nearby.
The cause of death was listed as injuries from a contact-range gunshot wound.
Officials from the coroner’s office say that Worley had been battling depression for some time.