Mrs. Lovelace Died on Valentine's Day: Was it Murder?

Arrest. Curtis Lovelace left his law office at 608 Vermont Street in downtown Quincy a little after noon on August 27, 2014. But instead of grabbing a bite to eat, meeting with a client or doing something else, he soon learned his life was about to be turned upside down when he was met by Detective Adam Gibson. Earlier in the day, Gibson had testified before an Adams County grand jury in a case concerning the death of Cory Lovelace. Gibson had spent the better part of nine months investigating the death and the grand jury returned an indictment of first-degree murder. The bill of indictment claimed Lovelace suffocated his wife, his bond was set at $5 million and he has since been held in the Hancock County Jail.

Lovelace was taken into custody without incident that afternoon. The news of a lawyer who worked in the Adams County state’s attorney’s office at the time of his wife’s death being indicted for murder drew national attention. The story of a former star University of Illinois football player-turned-lawyer who served as president of the Quincy School Board made headlines throughout the country. The story was the No. 1 most-clicked story on The Herald-Whig’s website by a wide margin in 2014. Fox News interviewed Quincy Police Chief Rob Copley, who had also been contacted by several national news organizations.

Cause of Death. Jessica Bowman, M.D., labeled the cause of Cory Lovelace as undetermined, but indicated “there is unexplained trauma to the mouth and a sign of death inconsistent with the time frame given.” However, before the lip trauma came to light, both Lovelace and his daughter, Lyndsay, said Mrs. Lovelace had fallen out of bed the previous Sunday. According to Baird, Lyndsay said her mother did not complain of any injuries, did not say she hurt herself or where, but did say she had fallen. Marked steatosis of the liver (fatty liver), which can be associated with sudden demise, was also noted. Fatty liver can be caused by diabetes, obesity, alcoholism and/or drugs. A Styrofoam cup half-full of vodka and tonic was found next to the bed and smelled faintly of alcohol. According to Curtis Lovelace, his wife had been sick with “flu-like” symptoms at least since Saturday, February 11. But even though it was early morning when she allegedly died, her blood alcohol level was 0.049. There was also a suggestion of suicide.

Martha “Marty” Didriksen, the mother of Cory Lovelace, said she was afraid her daughter was either alcoholic or suffered from an eating disorder, possibly bulimia.

When the grand jury was informed of Mrs. Lovelace’s illness and the possibility of suicide, one juror observed, “She also had not eaten because she was sick.” A third said, “It is kind of strange that a person would drink themselves to suicide.”

Trial. During opening statements, Special Prosecutor Ed Parkinson told the jury the Lovelace residence “wasn’t a happy place.” Three people who lived near the home testified they heard raised voices coming from the house. Lori Miles, who lived next door, said she primarily heard Cory Lovelace yelling, and Elizabeth Schlembach confirmed her testimony. Catherine Meckes, who lived behind 1869 Kentucky, recalled walking in the neighborhood on the night before Mrs. Lovelace’s death and hearing an argument coming from the house. After learning of the arrest of Curtis Lovelace, she contacted the police. The most relevant testimony, however, was that of Amy Herkert and her husband who were friends of the Lovelaces and had spent New Year’s Day 2006 with them. Mrs. Heckert remembered both Cory and Curtis were intoxicated by 3 p.m., January 1. She also related what happened when she called Curtis after learning of his wife’s death. “He said, ‘Cory’s dead’ and hung up.” Later in the spring, she spoke with Curtis again, at which time he said “the last 90 days of their marriage had been horrible” and blamed their marital problems on Cory. Mrs. Herkert also expressed amazement that Curtis Lovelace took the couple’s three oldest children back to school on February 14, after bringing them home to advise them of their mother’s death.

On cross-examination, defense attorney James Elmore asked Amy Herkert if she knew Lovelace took his kids back to school so they wouldn’t have “to be around a bunch of crying adults.” Afterwards, Parkinson asked Mrs. Herkert if Curtis Lovelace would have been one of those “crying adults” and she practically shouted, “Absolutely not!” Elmore then asked if she was of the opinion that Curtis Lovelace grieved differently because he was a “big, tough-guy, football player,” referencing his time as an All-Big Ten center for the University of Illinois. “He was not a big, tough guy to me,” Herkert countered.

The jury was shown approximately 10 minutes of the interrogation of Curtis Lovelace by the Quincy police on August 27, 2014: “I’ve not been in this situation before,” Lovelace said shortly after entering the interview room, repeatedly insisting he had nothing to do with his wife’s death. In describing what happened when he discovered Cory Lovelace that morning, he said, “She was cold and stiff. I recall her hands being up or something like that.” He then admitted both he and his wife had problems with alcohol and claimed he had not drank since December 2012 when he realized he was an alcoholic. When asked if he suffocated his wife, Lovelace replied, “No, I did not. … All of this is surprising to me, shocking.” During the interview, Lovelace remained calm, never raised his voice and answered all questions. He admitted to being confused when he was first arrested. “I can tell you my first thought was concern about my current wife and that something had happened to her,” he told police. “She was baking pies on North 12th.” (Christine Lovelace had recently opened Oh My Pie, a shop where she bakes and sells pies.)

Curtis and Cory Lovelace’s two youngest children, ages 17 and 14, continue to live with Christine Lovelace.