Patch Flash: Harry Potter Star Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) Talks to Patch

Dmitry Smirnov, 21, plead guilty to first-degree murder of a Westmont woman he met through an online dating service. The morning of the murder, Smirnov researched the status of capital punishment in Illinois and learned that Illinois had recently abolished the death penalty, according to DuPage County Stat’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin. Berlin stated that the threat of the death penalty might have prevented the murder.

Oak Forest Patch is reporting that , leading to speculation that the accident that killed two elderly women was a suicide. However, the granddaughter of the woman denies it was a suicide note.

A 20-foot sinkhole has opened along and under Hicks Road near Dundee Road, in Palatine.The sinkhole opened because a sewer line collapsed beneath the street following the Saturday, July 23 rain .

Harry Potter mania continued this week as one of the movie’s stars arrived in Naperville.   The Harry Potter star answered the top five questions prior to his appearance at Hollywood Blvd., in Naperville, Friday.  

The Chicago suburbs had a top competitor in the Tour de France bike race. Vande Velde finished 17th, the second best finish for the U.S.