No bond for Tinley Park man accused of fatally stabbing estranged Oak Forest girlfriend 25 times

Chad Oster previously arrested for domestic violence against Lauren Pikor in 2021: documents

ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Man held on no bond in estranged girlfriend's suburban stabbing death
Chad Oster of Tinley Park has been charged in the deadly Oak Forest stabbing of Lauren Pikor, police said.

OAK FOREST, Ill. (WLS) -- A man charged in a 30-year-old woman's Oak Forest stabbing death has pleaded not guilty and is being held on no bond.

Oak Forest police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance in the 5300-block of Diamond Drive at about 10:14 p.m. on Friday.

Officers arrived and found Lauren Pikor, the mother of a young child, in the roadway outside of her home with stab wounds, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

On Saturday, officers with police with Oak Forest, Tinley Park and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force responded to a home in the 18200-block of Glen Swilly Circle in Tinley Park.

Police said 36-year-old Chad Oster was taken into custody after a lengthy standoff.

On Monday morning, police said Oster has been charged with one count of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said he allegedly stabbed Pikor 25 times.

Sources close to the investigation said Oster is Pikor's estranged boyfriend.

According to court documents, Oster was arrested in March 2021 for domestic violence after allegedly punching Pikor in the throat. He then locked her in a room to keep her from calling police. An order of protection was issued on March 9, 2021 and was extended through May 26, 2023.

Residents said they heard loud flash bangs as a SWAT team attempted to end the standoff.

Salma Hussein lives just three down from where the man was holed up. The college student recorded that part of the police operation on her cellphone.

"It was pretty loud. It did sound like gunfire, but I really didn't know what to think at the time," Hussein said.

Neighbors remembered Pikor as a sweet person and wonderful mother to her daughter.

"I mean, we knew each other as neighbors, but you couldn't have met a nicer person," an Oak Forest neighbor said.

Police asked anyone with information to contact Detective Sergeant Ryan Burnett at 708-687-1376.

Oster's next court date is Aug. 31.

You can contact the Illinois domestic violence hotline at 1-877-863-6338 click here for more information.