Zigic Did Not Fight Back, Says Stepdaughter of La Grange Park Man Charged with Murder

The stepdaughter of the La Grange Park man charged with murdering her boyfriend in a fight last week has talked with the Chicago Tribune in an article published on Sunday, Aug. 26.

In the article, Erica Spoeri, 23, said her boyfriend and father of their 3-month-old child, Bojan Zigic, 26, never fought back when her stepfather, Carl M. Spoeri, 55, beat him in the evening of Aug. 20 outside their home in La Grange Park.

According to Erica, the fight began in the morning on Aug. 20, when her stepfather became angry that her boyfriend was sleeping late in the home they shared with her stepfather and mother. Erica said he had reason to be sleeping late—Zigic worked hard as a truck driver and had been at work until 3:30 a.m. that morning.

Erica told the Tribune that they had planned to get married in October this year and had dated for almost 10 years. Now, that was gone.

Zigic was punched in the head twice by Spoeri and then slapped, causing him to fall to the ground and hit his head on the bumper of a vehicle. Zigic was in the process of moving out of the home with some friends when Spoeri "peeled" down the street and got into an argument with Zigic as they were almost done loading a truck of their belongings.

Zigic was rushed to Loyola University Medical Hospital shortly at 8 p.m. on Aug. 20. He went through surgery to reduce swelling of his brain, but never regained consciousness. He was declared dead on Thursday, Aug. 23 at about 1:30 p.m.

Bail was set in the amount of $250,000 at an appearance in bond court at the Maybrook Courthouse in Maywood on Aug. 24.

Erica Spoeri said told the Tribune in their interview that she'd like to see her stepfather put away forever for wrecking so many lives. Erica and their baby are now staying with Zigic's family, and she will be following the trial to make sure her stepfather will pay for what he's done, she said.