Chicago FBI Press Office

Phone: (312) 829-1199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 11, 2008

FBI JOINS HUNT FOR MURDER SUSPECT                 

Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and John Payne, Chief of the Villa Park Police Department (VPPD) are asking for the public’s help in locating ARTUR SHEHU, who is depicted on the attached wanted flyer. SHEHU is wanted for the January 7, 2008 murder of his parents in their Villa Park home.

According to a criminal complaint that was recently filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago , the VPPD received an emergency call on their 911 line from an individual who identified himself as SHEHU. The caller said that he was on his way to a residence, located at 46 West Ridge in the western suburb, where he was going to kill himself. Upon arriving at the scene, VPPD Officers found the bodies of Syria and Safo Shehu, both of whom had been shot to death. Later that day, ARTUR SHEHU’s vehicle was found abandoned in Chicago , in the vicinity of 3700 North Recreation Drive . No further contact with or sightings of SHEHU have been reported since.

SHEHU has been charged in a complaint filed in DuPage County Court in Wheaton with two counts of First Degree Murder and in Federal Court in Chicago with one count of Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution (UFAP). SHEHU remains the subject of a nationwide manhunt, which is being coordinated by the FBI in Chicago .

ARTUR SHEHU is described as a white/male, 33 years of age, 5’9” tall, medium build, with black hair and brown eyes. SHEHU is an Albanian national who is a legal resident alien. SHEHU speaks fluent English and Albanian. He has relatives living in Canada and has strong ties to the Albanian community in Chicago .

Anyone recognizing SHEHU or having any information as to his whereabouts is asked to call the Chicago FBI at (312) 421-6700.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Copies of the criminal complaint filed in this case and the attached wanted flyer are available from the Chicago FBI’s press office at (312) 829-1199.