Bond denied for man charged with murder in wife's 1973 death

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (WLS) -- A Cook County judge denied bond Monday for Donnie Rudd, the Texas man charged with killing his teen bride in a Chicago suburb more than 40 years ago.

Rudd's lawyer appeared in court Monday morning for his client, who remains hospitalized under police guard with a leg circulation ailment that makes it hard for him to walk.

Rudd is charged with murder in connection with the 1973 death of his wife Noreen Kumeta Rudd in Barrington Township. He's also suspected in a 1991 murder of an Arlington Heights woman.

The former attorney, school board member, and suburban planning commissioner was arrested Thursday in Sugarland, Texas, about 15 miles southwest of Houston.

"Just being here is very sad. It's so sad to see those families and what they've been through, and that it took so long for Donnie to be held accountable for what he's done," said Cindy Mulligan, Rudd's stepdaughter.

The 73-year-old Texas man has been charged with first degree murder of Noreen Rudd, who was 19 years old at the time of her death in 1973. The two met while both working at the Quaker Oats Company in Barrington.

Prosecutors accused Rudd of beating his young wife to death just 27 days after they were married and staging a car accident to cover it up for the insurance money.

"The victim and the defendant would have had to be married in order for him to be the beneficiary on these payouts. Nineteen-year-old Noreen Rudd had taken out the maximum policy of $100,000," said Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Maria McCarthy.

Noreen's death was reclassified as a homicide in 2013 when Arlington Heights police exhumed her body.

Rudd - who was a real estate attorney in Illinois but lost his license in 1994 after being suspected of fraud - has also been a longtime suspect in the 1991 death of Loretta Teri Tabak, a 59-year-old interior designer who was shot to death in her Arlington Heights apartment.

"I just don't think they got it on this one. There is no evidence at all to conclude that Mr. Rudd was involved in the death of his wife. It just doesn't exist," said Tim Grace, defense attorney.

Rudd has not been charged in Tabak's death. He is due back in court on December 24.