There were tears of joy and sighs of relief in court from the family of Urszula Sakowska.
The 23-year-old was sexual assaulted, then strangled to death inside her home by a Comcast-contracted workman named Anthony Triplett. He was there to work on her high speed internet connection.
The murder happened on the southwest side in December of 2006.
Unbeknownst to the victim: Triplett was already being looked at for a murder a month and a half earlier in this Hyde Park high rise.
Thirty-nine-year-old Janice Ordidge was also strangled to death, and also left in her bathtub after calling Comcast for cable TV service.
Police say they informed Comcast that Triplett was interviewed as a "witness." Detectives were waiting for DNA results before making an arrest. While they waited, Triplett continued making house calls for Comcast, and that's when he murdered Urszula Sakowska.
Comcast issued the following statement on Monday: "We remain saddened by these tragic events, and our hearts go out to the families who've lost their loved ones. We have fully cooperated with law enforcement authorities in their investigations."
Her family was joined in court for the verdict on Monday by Janice Ordidge's loved one. Both families declined to comment.
Triplett's attorney argued in court his client would have been foolish to commit both crimes.
"The theory being why would he have possibly done this knowing police were hot on his tail? He was under close scrutiny at the time," said Jack Rimland, Triplett's defense attorney.
"We are extremely pleased with the guilty verdict rendered this evening by the jury against Anthony Triplett in the tragic sexual assault and murder of Urszula Sakowska. In many ways this case represents the alarming and unexpected way that sexual violence can impact the life of any woman – and it is our hope that this guilty verdict finally brings justice for Urszula, who was doing what any woman should be able to do with a sense of safety and security in her own home," Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said in a statement on Monday.
