A former Chicago attorney — suspected of life insurance fraud in the death of his young wife only 28 days after their wedding in 1973 — was arrested in Sugar Land, Texas Thursday.
Arlington Heights police and Sugar Lane police arrested Donnie Rudd Thursday, December 17, 2015 for the murder of his wife, Noreen Kumeta Rudd, who was 19-years old when she died September 21, 1973. Donnie Rudd was about 31-years old at the time of her death.
Police in Sugar Land, Texas, said 73-year-old Donnie Rudd waived extradition to Illinois, where he was expected to be transferred to Cook County.
Initially police thought Noreen Kumeta Rudd died from injuries sustained in a single-vehicle crash in Barrington Hills. Her body was exhumed two years ago, and the autopsy led police to believe Donnie Rudd killed his wife by beating her to death before the accident. Police suspect Donnie Rudd possibly committed the murder to collect on a $100,000 insurance policy.
Police report that Rudd, who was disbarred long ago, is also a suspect in the 1991 murder of an Arlington Heights resident. Loretta “Terri” Tabak was found dead in her condominium townhouse on Belmont Avenue near Maude Avenue on April 4, 1991. She was shot multiple times in the face. She was killed in a short time period after she threatened to file a complaint about Rudd’s legal practices with the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. She had hired Rudd, then about age 49, to file a lawsuit in a dispute with her interior design business partner. There were no signs of forced entry in her townhouse.
As part of the initial murder investigation in 1991, police interviewed Rudd, and he admitted he was in the townhouse on the day that Tabak was killed. The Arlington Heights Police Department attempted to file charges against an unnamed suspect in the Tabak case, but the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office declined the charges because there was no murder weapon discovered and there were no witnesses to the murder that occurred in a dead end street just south of the large Town & Country Center shopping center.
Loretta “Terri” Tabak’s daughter Stephanie Tabak has been active in following leads and tracking the life of Donnie Rudd, who she has suspected killed her mother.
Donnie Rudd (police photo).
DonnieRudd.com — apparently a business website for the suspect — includes a biography stating that Donnie Rudd is a life long Texan. The website lists 40 inventions involving stem cell research and tissue regeneration, claiming to be attributed to Rudd.
“(Rudd) began his career as a Chemical Engineer and later entered the biological sciences. In 2002 he became Chief Scientist and VP of Intellectual Property for Regenetech, Inc. and for a brief period acted as its interim Chairman. In 2009, he formed WeHealAnimals, Inc. and its related companies We Heal Plus and We Help Plus. In 2013, Dr. Rudd sold these companies to Endonovo Therapeutics, Inc. and Dr. Rudd became Chief Scientist and Director of Intellectual Property for Endonovo Therapeutics, Inc. while still remaining the President of Endonovo’s wholly owned subsidiary We Heal Animals, Inc.
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