OAK FOREST, CHICAGO: A 36-year-old Tinley Park man has pled not guilty to the charges stemming from the murder of Lauren Pikor, who was found fatally stabbed in the street in front of her home. The 30-year-old Pikor was killed before 10:14 pm on Friday, August 4 when Oak Forest police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance in the 5300 block of Diamond Drive.
Upon their arrival, the deputies discovered Pikor, the mother of a young child, lying in the roadway with brutal stabbing wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Prosecutors alleged that Poker was stabbed nearly 25 times by the suspect, according to ABC 7. A day after Pikor’s death, officers from Oak Forest, Tinley Park, and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force executed a search warrant at a house in the 18200 block of Glen Swilly Circle. At the residence, police arrested Chad Oster following a lengthy standoff. Authorities said the standoff came to an end after police used flash bangs to breach the residence.
Who is Chad Oster?
On Monday, the 36-year-old Oster was charged with one count of first-degree murder. Sources close to the investigation said Oster is Pikor's estranged boyfriend. Pikor reportedly had a restraining order against Oster at the time of her killing. Court records also revealed that Oster was arrested in March 2021 on domestic violence charges after he allegedly punched Pikor in the throat. He then locked her in a room in order to stop her from calling the police. An order of protection was issued on March 9, 2021, and was extended through May 26, 2023. He made his first court appearance on Monday when a Cook County judge ordered that he remain in custody without bond.
Neighbors remembered Pikor as a sweet person and a wonderful mother to her young daughter Eva. "I mean, we knew each other as neighbors, but you couldn't have met a nicer person," an Oak Forest neighbor said to ABC 7. A GoFundMe set up by Pikor’s family described her as “a loving mother, sister, daughter, granddaughter, cousin, niece, and friend.” “She leaves behind her pride and joy, her sweet daughter, and a heartbroken family,” stated the fundraiser, which is set up to raise money for Pikor’s daughter and funeral expenses. The family added that Pikor “was a dedicated single mother who worked hard and strove to be an amazing role model for her daughter.”
'Her legacy lives on in her daughter'
“She excelled in her career and her faith guided her throughout her life. She was loved more than words by so many. Her legacy lives on in her daughter and the many lives she touched,” Pikor’s devastated family continued. Andrew Holmes, a crisis responder, also mourned the mother’s death, saying “The child’s life, the whole family’s life, because this mother has been taken, and as a child, growing up this child is going to be looking for his or her mother, that’s their best friend, this changes everything as far as growing up,” according to People.
