Deaths murder-suicide

POLO – A Polo man fatally shot a woman in her home before hanging and fatally shooting himself Monday, Polo Police said Tuesday.

The body of Marcellene Jones, 73, was discovered by a male friend at her home at 604 W. North St. around noon Monday. The body of Paul Busser Sr., 76, was found after a more extensive search of the home, police said in a news release.

The friend went to Casey's General Store, 120 N. Division Ave., and called 911 to report a possible shooting, Polo Police Chief Dennis Christen said Tuesday during a phone interview.

Authorities arrived shortly after, and the block was closed to traffic for much of the afternoon.

Autopsies were scheduled for Tuesday.

One of Jones' across-the-street neighbors, Jean Dawson, spoke fondly of her Monday afternoon.

"She was just a very good person," Dawson said. "I mean, she was always willing to do anything for anybody."

Jones has a lot of family in the area, Dawson said, and she was known to frequent Mason Restaurant, 118 W. Mason St., with her family.

Two waitresses, Chris Sturtz and Fatima Ashiku, working at Mason Restaurant on Monday also spoke fondly of Jones, and remembered Busser, whom they said knew Jones and also was a frequent patron.

"He used to come in," Ashiku said, gesturing toward a chair to her left. "I remember he was sitting in that chair just the other day."

"She was very outgoing," Sturtz said, remarking on how Jones used to come in with her sisters and dine at a large table near a window. "She loved life. She was just a bright, shining personality."

"She's the best," Ashiku said.

Ashiku has worked for Mason Restaurant for 25 years, and has known Jones since the beginning. The two had a very close relationship. Ashiku said Jones would frequently take her to Dixon and Rockford for medical appointments.

"Even the birds will cry for her, not just the people," Ashiku said. "She wouldn't hurt anybody."

This is the second murder-suicide in the Polo area, and the third in Ogle County, in a little more than a year.

On Feb. 25, Jack E. Bond, 85, shot his wife, Dorothy F. Bond, 86, in their home at 4238 N. Armour Road, about 3.5 miles southeast of Stillman Valley. The two reportedly were ill.

On May 31, 2012, Gerald Fossler, 49, shot Vickie L. Weegens, 55, in the front yard of the farmhouse they shared at 4170 Evergreen Road, about 3 miles southeast of Polo, after a domestic dispute. He then moved her body to the backyard and shot himself.