Readers React to Highland Park Murder, Arrests

It's been a week since a 20-year-old Highland Park man was found dead in Wilmette. 

It's been even less time since three other Highland Park residents were arrested and charged with first degree murder.

Read Patch's full coverage of the Colin Nutter homicide

Colin Nutter, a 20-year-old Highland Park resident who was found dead in Wilmette on Monday, died of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head, according to the Highland Park Police Department. 

According to Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim, the accused — Benjamin Schenk, 20, Philip Vatamaniuc, 17, and Michael Coffee, 17 — met with Nutter early on the day of June 3 to buy marijuana from him. All three suspects are Highland Park residents.

Read Patch's full coverage of the Colin Nutter homicide

Schenk, Coffee and Vatamaniuc got into Nutter's Dodge Stratus, with Schenk sitting behind Nutter. Both Vatamaniuc and Coffee gave statements indicating that they watched as Schenk shot Nutter in the head, according to Nerheim.

Though these details paint a picture of what happened on June 3, they don't explain why. And they don't begin to explore the effect this death will have on the city. Already, the mayor and District 113 superintendent have issued statements to residents. One Highland Park High School alum described how rattled he was by this sudden, awful violence in our community. 

Patch will continue to investigate the details surrounding this story. In the meantime, we hope you'll share how this news affected you. Leave a comment below by clicking the "Leave a Comment" button. If you have a letter to the editor, post it as a blog or email it to jacob@patch.com.