Elvin Payton, 26, and Beatrice Rosado, 24, both of the 700 block of North Avers Avenue, are both charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Michael Norton, 55, of unincorporated DuPage County near Glen Ellyn. Rosado also faces an unrelated battery charge.Cook County Criminal Court Judge Adam Bourgeois today ordered them both held without bond. Norton was killed on May 14 around 7 p.m. at his store in the 4700 block of West North Avenue, according to police.The corner store uses an address of 1555 N. Cicero Ave.Although police said that the slaying was related to a robbery of the store, residents of the building and neighbors had said Norton was threatened by gangbangers after he evicted a woman from the building, which he owned, about two weeks before his slaying.Today, Asst. State’s Atty. Joy Tolbert Nelson said Rosado, who apparently had the lease on the apartment, was evicted two weeks before the slaying, along with Payton, who lived with her.Payton is an admitted member of the Latin Styler street gang, according to court records.
A witness saw Payton and another man enter the store, lock the door and later leave, Tolbert Nelson said. As the two left, they removed masks that covered their faces and Rosado was seen at a van in the area about the time of the slaying, Tolbert Nelson said.Police officers responding to a robbery call found Norton, with his hands and feet bound, face down on floor, shot once in the back of the head.
The two were arrested after a police radio band alert saying they were wanted in connection with the slaying. After their arrest, both were identified in lineups and gave statements, Tolbert Nelson said. Payton admitted to participating in the robbery and shooting of Norton and Rosado admitted to being involved in the slaying, Tolbert Nelson said.Defense attorneys provided no employment information on Payton but said he stayed home and watched a child the couple had had together and Rosado’s three older children.Payton appeared in court in a red hoodie, and Rosado wore a black-and-white striped jacket.Daisy Rodriguez, Rosado’s mother, said her daughter was “terrified” of Payton. “He made her do this,” she said.Her family said Rosado and Payton had been together for about two years.