The 79-year-old former owner of the house from the “Home Alone” movie was found dead Wednesday in Illinois after being accused of having child pornography.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office said John Abendshien’s body was found at the Lake Forest Open Lands: Derwen Mawr Nature Preserve, ABC 7 Chicago reported Thursday.
Abendshien, who was the original owner of the Winnetka house located at 671 Lincoln Avenue, had recently been arrested and charged for possession of the abuse materials.
Prior to his body being found, Abendshien’s wife had reported him missing and the Lake Forest Police Department launched a search, according to the Lake & McHenry County Scanner.
“Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said an autopsy indicated that Abendshien died from asphyxia in a manner that was consistent with being self-inflicted,” the outlet said, noting he had been released from jail on April 17 after being charged in the child porn case.
Law enforcement and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office executed a search warrant at his Morris Lane home on April 16 after cyber tips linked him to the material.
Authorities found electronic evidence on a Google Drive account and photos of children. The Scanner article then detailed a recent hearing regarding the case, noting the judge decided to release Abendshien before trial because of his age and lack of criminal history:
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Patrick Windmoeller said during the hearing that Abendshien was in possession of 100 images of nude children, ages 7-10, in addition to the images of children between the ages of 4 and 15 years old in various stages of undress.
One image showed a child on a table in a morgue. Images of dismembered women were also found, Windmoeller said.
According to NewsNation, Abendshien had also reportedly written a story about a fake FBI agent who stalked a Wisconsin woman before holding her at gunpoint, sexually assaulting her, and then taking her life.
“Prosecutors say the woman’s real name was used in the story. Abendshien had a part-time home in Wisconsin,” a reporter for the outlet said:
After the man’s arrest, Lake Forest Police Chief John Burke said, “These cases are deeply concerning, and we are committed to aggressively investigating and prosecuting those involved. We will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to protect children and ensure community safety.”
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) defines child pornography, also known as child sexual abuse material (CSAM), as a form of child sexual exploitation.
The agency also detailed how the young victims are affected by the crime, stating, “When these images are placed on the Internet and disseminated online, the victimization of the children continues in perpetuity. Experts and victims agree that victims depicted in child pornography often suffer a lifetime of re-victimization by knowing the images of their sexual abuse are on the Internet forever.”
The DOJ also said the internet and advanced digital technology run alongside the explosion of such crimes against children because those images can be found on social media, file-sharing sites, photo-sharing sites, gaming devices, and apps.
Criminals “connect on Internet forums and networks to share their interests, desires, and experiences abusing children, in addition to selling, sharing, and trading images,” the agency noted, adding, “The continuous production and distribution of child pornography increases the demand for new and more egregious images, perpetuating the continued molestation of child victims, as well as the abuse of new children.”
