Kisliak family murder-suicide

2830 Acacia Terrace in Buffalo Grove, where the murder-suicide occurred.

The **Kisliak family murder-suicide** occurred on November 29, 2022. 39-year-old Andrei Kisliak stabbed his mother, wife, and two children to death in their Buffalo Grove, Illinois, home before committing suicide. Kisliak was in the midst of divorce proceedings with his wife, 36-year-old Vera Kisliak, as well as the foreclosure of their home.

The murder-suicide was one of at least four family annihilations to occur in Illinois in 2022, the other three being the Karels family murders, the Chang family murder-suicide, and the Gomez family murder-suicide.

## Background

### Andrei and Vera

Andrei Kisliak and Vera (maiden name unknown) first met in Minsk, Belarus, through mutual acquaintances, and married around 2012. Prior to their marriage, Andrei had lived in the United States for some time. In 2011, he was charged with domestic battery involving a woman he was dating at the time. The charge was later dismissed. Andrei had a history of run-ins with the law, largely for disorderly conduct.

After Andrei and Vera married, they settled in Buffalo Grove, a suburb of Chicago. Andrei worked three jobs, which made the couple moderately wealthy, and they purchased a large home in the Acacia Terrace neighborhood of Buffalo Grove. Andrei's mother, Lilia, moved in with them. The couple would go on to have two daughters; Vivian and Amilia.

### Marital and financial issues

Issues in the Kisliaks's relationship were known as far back as 2018, when Vera reported a domestic complaint to the police. In the summer of 2022, tensions between Andrei and Vera increased, with Andrei bringing prostitutes to the family home, having frequent arguments audible to neighbors, and making physical threats toward Vera. On August 23, 2022, Andrei threatened to kill Vera and damaged her phone as she tried to record his abuse. An order of protection was filed against Andrei, requiring him to stay away from the home and cease contact with his wife and children. Andrei responded by requesting a protection order against Vera, but this request was denied.

On August 24, police were called after Andrei left his daughters alone at a bar in Deerfield. Vivian claimed to a stranger that Andrei beat her and her sister, but denied this when she spoke to police in the presence of Andrei. Similarly, faculty at Ivy Hall Elementary School, where Vivian attended, became concerned when she once mentioned being afraid of beatings at the hands of her father. Andrei was not known to beat his children, but family members reported he had made numerous threats of physical harm toward them.

The couple separated, and divorce proceedings commenced in late August 2022. In the four months prior to the murder-suicide, at least nine 911 calls had been made by Vera and Andrei. On September 6, Vera called the police when one of her vehicles disappeared, and she believed Andrei had stolen it. A number of other calls were made regarding alleged protection order violations where Andrei made or attempted to make entry to the home. He was arrested twice during this period.

On November 9, after two years of missed mortgage payments totaling more than $450,000, the bank filed for foreclosure on the Acacia Terrace home. On November 26 and 29, Andrei made numerous attempts to sell his three vehicles at two dealerships in Palatine, but was unsuccessful. The couple's final court date was on November 29. A judge noted that Andrei seemed uncharacteristically calm during the court session.

## Murders

On the night of Tuesday, November 29, 2022, Andrei entered the Acacia Terrace home. With a knife, he killed his grandmother, Lilia before moving upstairs and killing his wife, Vera, and eldest daughter Vivian. He entered the bedroom of the younger daughter, Amilia, and killed her. All the victims had reportedly been stabbed multiple times. He then killed the family dog before finally stabbing himself in the chest near where Vera and Vivian lay. The following are the victims and their ages;

* **Lilia Kisliak**, 67
* **Vera Kisliak**, 36
* **Vivian Kisliak**, 6
* **Amilia Kisliak**, 4

### Discovery

The next day, Vera failed to arrive at the nursing home where she worked. A coworker found it odd that she had not called nor texted to explain her absence, and they requested a wellbeing check. Officers arrived at the Acacia Terrace home and there was no response at the front door. When looking into one of the second story windows, they observed a body lying on the floor in blood.

The police forced entry through a garage side-door at around 11 AM. They discovered Lilia's body in the first floor bathroom. Three more bodies, those of Andrei, Vera, and Vivian, were found in a second floor hallway near the stairs. Amilia's body was found on or near her bed.

## Aftermath

A small memorial was created by community members next to mailbox of the Acacia Terrace home. A neighbor set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the transportation of Vera, Vivian, and Amilia's bodies to Belarus, where they could be buried. The campaign, which had a $50,000 goal, raised over $70,000. On December 16, a public memorial service was held at the Community Arts Center in Buffalo Grove.

The investigation into the murders was completed in March 2023 and several documents pertaining to the case were released to the public.

## Citations

1. ↑ https://people.com/crime/ill-dad-used-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-to-kill-10-year-old-son-and-himself-in-murder-suicide/
2. ↑ https://people.com/crime/man-killed-wife-her-children-murder-suicide-oak-forest-illinois/
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/threatening-to-kill-records-detail-history-of-police-calls-leading-up-to-buffalo-grove-murder-suicide/3033737/
4. ↑ https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j8ur7l8zmbj1huu/AAAM6u4inRLSJjS49b2gh9gva?dl=0&preview=Report+3.pdf
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 https://www.journal-topics.com/articles/final-details-released-in-slayings-of-buffalo-grove-family/
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 https://www.lakemchenryscanner.com/2022/12/29/police-had-responded-to-14-domestic-incidents-involving-kisliak-family-before-buffalo-grove-murder-suicide/
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j8ur7l8zmbj1huu/AAAM6u4inRLSJjS49b2gh9gva?dl=0
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/buffalo-grove-murder-suicide-new-report-kisliak
9. ↑ https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j8ur7l8zmbj1huu/AAAM6u4inRLSJjS49b2gh9gva?dl=0&preview=Lake+County+Major+Crime+Task+Force+Report.pdf
10. ↑ https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-loving-memory-of-vera-kisliak-vivian-amilia
11. ↑ https://www.lakemchenryscanner.com/2022/12/11/public-memorial-service-scheduled-for-mother-and-her-2-children-who-were-killed-in-buffalo-grove-murder-suicide/