Online fundraiser established for mother of Island Lake girl killed in suspected murder-suicide

Hundreds of donors have contributed more than $45,000 to an online fund to assist the mother of a 9-year-old Island Lake girl killed by her father last week in an apparent murder-suicide.

As of Monday evening, more than 650 people had donated to the GoFundMe account established in memory of Adrianna Anderson, who was in the fourth grade at Robert Crown School in Wauconda.

A condolence statement released by Wauconda Unit School District 118 characterized Adrianna as a sweet and charismatic youngster.

The Lake County coroner’s office indicated she and her father, Christopher Anderson, 36, of Lake Villa, died from sharp force trauma that likely indicates their deaths resulted from stab wounds or cuts. The deaths are being investigated as a murder-suicide, said a spokesman for the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force.

The mother had agreed to let Adrianna stay with her father Wednesday night, authorities said. After learning her daughter was not in school Thursday, the mother tried to contact Christopher Anderson. Unable to reach him, she called police for a well-being check.

Arriving Thursday at the father’s home on Briar Ridge Lane, police discovered the girl and her father in the same room, said Lt. Christopher Covelli, the task force spokesman. There was no evidence of a struggle, Covelli said, adding that Christopher Anderson had recently been laid off from his roofing job.

Fundraiser organizer and family friend Jaime Salvatore expressed gratitude on the GoFundMe page for contributions, which by Monday evening totaled $45,720.

“The family is overwhelmed with grief from their loss and deeply appreciative for all the support from family, friends, co-workers and the community at large both locally and nationally who were touched by this tragic event,” Salvatore said.

To that end, Nancy’s Pizza, at 527 Auburn Drive, Island Lake, will donate 20% of all sales on Feb. 24 and 25 to Adrianna Anderson’s family. That donation will be matched by the restaurant’s owners, according to the restaurant’s manager.

The online fundraiser can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/memorial-donation-for-sweet-adrianna-anderson.