Allan Kustok, father of former Northwestern star quarterback Zak Kustok, was indicted Monday on charges of murdering his wife last month, a lawyer for the family said.
Zak and his sister Sarah Kustok, a reporter for Comcast SportsNet, were present at the indictment and plan to attend future hearings, said Peter Rush, their attorney. The siblings continue to stand by their father.
“Their plans are to help with the defense in any way they can,” Rush said.
Kustok faces a first-degree murder charge for the Sept. 29 shooting of his wife, Anita Kustok. He delivered her body to the Palos Community Hospital emergency room that morning and said she had shot herself in bed at their Orland Park, Ill. home, according to documents from Orland Park police. But an autopsy concluded someone else had killed her.
Police arrested Kustok on Sept. 30, Orland Park Police Cmdr. John Keating told The Daily on Oct. 5.
After Kustok was admitted to the Cook County Jail on Oct. 1, he asked to be held in protective custody, according to an Oct. 5 e-mail from Steve Patterson, director of communications for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Jail staff mentally and physically evaluated him and decided to place him in the jail’s hospital.
On Oct. 2, Kustok moved to Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee County because he had worked as a sanitarian at Cook County from 2004 until 2007 and was familiar with the facilities and staff, Patterson said. He is still being held there on a $2 million bond.
The NU athletic department has been in contact with Zak Kustok since his mother’s death and his father’s arrest, department spokesman Mike Wolf said. Zak Kustok attended the Oct. 9 football game against Purdue University, at which the current team held a ceremony honoring the 2000 team Zak Kustok led to win the Big Ten Championship. At that game, players wore helmet stickers with the letters “ZK” and “SK,” representing Zak and Sarah Kustok’s initials..
But Wolf said he had not personally spoken to Zak Kustok, and was unsure how he was coping with the drama surrounding his parents.
Allan Kustok’s next hearing will be his arraignment, which is scheduled for Nov. 18, Rush said.
