19 years later, murdered woman’s purse returned to Joliet family

The first item Suzanna Ibarra of Joliet pulled from her late sister-in-law’s purse was a photo.

And then Suzanna Ibarra came face-to-face with the smiling face of her sister-in-law, Maria Elena Ibarra of Joliet.

“I pulled out some really nice pictures of her,” Suzanna Ibarra said. “She’d been to a wedding and was all dressed and looked very happy. It was a beautiful memory.”

Maria Elena Ibarra, 37, died after she was stabbed 21 times Jan. 21, 2004, and left in her shop, Great Looks by Maria Elena in Plainfield.

Even 19 years later, Suzanna Ibarra, a former Joliet Township trustee who was elected to the Joliet City Council in April, said she still feels the pain of loss.

“I never had a biological sister,” Ibarra said. “This was the closest I could hope for a sister.”

Paul Wenzel, 38, Maria Elena Ibarra’s boyfriend, was charged with her murder. He died after he tried to hang himself in jail.

“Maria was more than just a murder victim. ... she was more than those last horrific moments of her life.”

—  Suzanna Ibarra, sister-in-law of Maria Elena Ibarra and Joliet City Council member

Carole Cheney, Will County assistant state’s attorney and director of public affairs, said the court entered an “Order for Return of Evidence” dated June 29, 2004, for the victim’s belongings, providing that the evidence being held could be returned.

Somehow, Maria Elena Ibarra’s purse was not returned to the family until this summer when Will County State’s Attorney James W. Glasgow personally delivered it to Suzanna Ibarra on June 21 .

Cheney said Suzanna Ibarra inquired about the handbag through the state’s attorney’s office. Investigators went to the Plainfield Police Department to talk to the evidence custodian, who found the order from 2004.

“The handbag was provided to the investigators, who brought it to our office, and the state’s attorney proceeded to provide the handbag to Suzanne,” Cheney said.

Suzanna Ibarra recalled the anxiety of the January day when family and clients didn’t know what happened to Maria and why they couldn’t reach her. Police then found her sister-in-law in her Plainfield shop.

“It was a very hateful crime,” Suzanna Ibarra said, adding, “It doesn’t feel like 19 years ago. It feels like it just happened yesterday, sometimes.”

But on June 21, Suzanna Ibarra wasn’t focused on the crime. She was focusing on the life before the tragedy and seeing the smiles in the photos where she could just “feel the love.”

“Maria was more than just a murder victim,” Suzanna Ibarra said. “She loved my children as her own. She loved to bake; she was an expert baker. She was always coming over and baking with my children. She loved to be on the playground with the kids. She was an active member of her community and a member of the Kiwanis Club in Plainfield. She was a very talented beautician and an expert seamstress; she made a lot of dresses for others, for herself, wedding dresses. She was more than those last horrific moments of her life.”

Even after family members emptied the purse of its contents, one significant impression of Maria Elena Ibarra remained.

“It still smelled like her mint oil she always used,” Suzanna Ibarra said. “Can you believe that?”