CBS News
Young Chicago mother bravely fought for weeks to stop her abuser before being shot and killed
CHICAGO (CBS) — Maria Roque was just 34 years old when she was shot and killed on the steps outside her West Side Chicago home, in front of her 8-year-old daughter.
Her daughter and her 14-year-old son both witnessed Roque take her last breath.
In the weeks before she was killed, Roque repeatedly took all steps domestic violence victims are told to take. She got a protection order against her former boyfriend Kenneth Brown. She also repeatedly went to the Chicago Police Department for help. She filed one police report after another and never gave up.
But the system failed her.
Those who loved Roque hope her legacy will be one of change to keep domestic violence victims alive.
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One of Roque’s close friends, Adriana Valdez, tried to help.
“It wasn’t once, it wasn’t twice, it was multiple times Roque went screaming for help with actual evidence,” Valdez said about Roque filing numerous police reports.
Roque had photos, threatening text messages, and video. She filed her first police report on Halloween 2023 – saying she was thrown to the ground and pinned down with a foot on her chest.
Then on Nov. 8, Roque filed another one because her car tire was slashed. On Nov. 11 and 12, Roque reported repeated harassing calls and texts. Then on Nov. 13, she reported a rock thrown through her front window.
What did police do? They closed one case and suspended all the rest – meaning the cases were kept open, but were not being investigated.
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Maria Roque’s twin brother, Andres Roque, saw her struggle to get any help from police.
“Police don’t do much, they just say it is what it is,” said Andres Roque. “What do we have police for, then?”
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Andres Roque had his own run- in with Brown. They got into a fight after he says he was defending his sister from Brown. Andres says his glasses were broken and his phone was taken. A police report was filed but no action was taken.
“I always told her don’t let anybody hurt you. She started to open up more and tell me things,” said Andres Roque. “She’s like, ‘I need to get out from here. I deserve better,’ and I told her, you do.”
Then on Roque’s birthday, Nov. 24, her car was set on fire. She had the video which shows a person by her car, the fire starting, and then the person calmly walking away.
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For Maria Roque, this was more than just a car—it was a memory she made with her brother years before. The twins bought twin cars.
Documents show police had the video, but they ended up suspending this case too.
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“She knew that this man was definitely capable of much more than damage to material things,” said Valdez.
Roque filed three more police reports on Nov. 28, Nov. 30, and Dec. 8. These were for harassing calls and texts.
Two cases were suspended, and one just stayed open. In all the complaints, there was not a single mention of police ever questioning Brown—not once. There was no contact and there were no arrests. That’s important, when looking at what failed.
Roque had a protection order. Valdez said, another domestic violence survivor, made sure to take Roque to get one.
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“I know how scary it can be,” let’s do it so you don’t feel alone,” said Valdez.
She helped Roque navigate the system. The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County’s office offers guidance on getting protection orders. The office also has a center where people can get help.
In Roque’s case, the protective order should have given her a chance to have her abuser arrested after every violation. But there were problems. First, it wasn’t served, then it wasn’t enforced.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Department had to “serve” Brown, that’s what it’s called. To successfully serve, the Sheriff’s Department had to give Brown court papers in person. Only then could he be arrested for any protection order violations.
The Sheriff’s Office said it tried to serve him twice with no luck.
The process is complicated. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office provided information to navigate the system and phone numbers for places to get help.
We showed Benna Crawford, managing director at Legal Aid Chicago all of Roque’s police reports. The nonprofit represents hundreds of domestic violence survivors every year and has provided resources.
“This is a crime that is taken less seriously,” said Benna Crawford. “Maria’s case, and so many cases like it, demonstrate all of the different points where there was opportunity to do that intervention—and that opportunity was missed.”
CBS 2
On Nov. 28, Brown was served the protection order and related court papers. Roque went back to police that same day with a new harassing text and repeated calls.
Police should have arrested him for violating the protection order. But they didn’t.
Crawford said this sent a message to Roque: “That she was going to have to do everything on her own.”
Police did the bare minimum of what they were required to do by law. They kept telling Roque that she could try and get an arrest warrant herself from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
“I’m not aware of any other type of case or crime that one could be the victim of where the burden could be shifted to the victim to go out and do the investigation, and put together the evidence, and go to the state’s attorney and convince the state’s attorney’s office that they should press criminal charges,” said Crawford. “That is typically a police function.”
According to the state’s attorney’s office, only domestic violence victims can get their own warrants. It gives victims another avenue to get their abusers arrested. Roque was told six times she could do this herself.
“Just so heavy a burden to bear, and one that probably shouldn’t have been hers,” said Crawford.
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“The last thing she told me in a text message, he told her, ‘Oh I have a gun for you’,” said Andres Roque.
Maria Roque’s family wants what happened to her known—her final minutes after fighting so long; what happened when the system failed her.
On Dec. 13, Roque left early in the morning to take her daughter to daycare before going to work. She buckled her daughter in their vehicle, then walked back toward her home.
Home surveillance video shows that from across the street, a man quickly ran up behind her. She screamed at him about her daughter in the car. The little girl could see everything.
But that didn’t stop the man. Neighbors’ cameras caught the gunfire and a man running away. Maria’s son rushed outside an attempted to perform CPR on his mother. Maria was taken to an area hospital where she died.
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Two weeks later, Brown turned himself in to police. He’s the father of the little girl who was in the car during the shooting.
Brown has pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
“She said she saw her dad kill her mom, and how my nephew did CPR,” said Andres Roque. “She’s having nightmares.”
Something Roque’s children should know is that she never gave up. On Dec. 12, one day before the shooting, instead of going to police, this time Roque went straight to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. She was able to get an arrest warrant for Brown that same day.
Roque was finally so close to stopping Brown. But this help came too late. She was shot and killed just hours later.
“There needs to be a meaningful response early on to interrupt that before we get to the point where we get to a homicide,” said Crawford.
“That was the fear we had every single day,” said Valdez. “That something happened to Maria, that it was this man.”
Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline: 877-863-6338
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233
CBS2 visited Maria’s home with Andres Roque a few months after she was killed. Everything is still as she left it. Still propped up on her bed, Maria’s vision board and how she saw her future.
“She wanted this year to be a new chapter, and it was too soon she was gone,” said Andres Roque. “Now I feel empty. She was part of my life that was supposed to be forever.”
Also changed forever are the lives of Maria Roque’s children. Her daughter moved in with a family member. Her son is out of state with his dad.
Maria Roque is one of about 28,000 people who got protection orders in the last year in Cook County alone. It’s important to know that only Chicago residents can take police report numbers directly to the state’s attorney to get a warrant. Prosecutors can only access records from that department.
Here is information for Chicago residents from the Cook County State’s Attorney:
“Chicago Residents: If the offender was not arrested and you want the case reviewed for criminal charges:
Chicago residents can take their police report to the Domestic Violence Courthouse located at 555 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607 to have the case reviewed for criminal charges. The State’s Attorney’s office reviews cases during business days Monday-Friday 8:30-1:30 pm.”
Chicago Police Department officials would not explain the failures in this case. They sent this statement:
“The Chicago Police Department extends our condolences to Maria Roque’s family as they grieve her tragic loss. Domestic violence is a serious crime, and our members work with professionalism to support the victims and all those affected by the trauma of domestic violence. We are also working with our City of Chicago and Cook County partners to strengthen our coordination and the resources available to those experiencing domestic violence.”
If you are in a domestic violence situation, or know someone who is, The Network, an advocacy group for domestic violence victims, put together a toolkit on how to create a safety plan.
CBS News
UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect Luigi Mangione expected to waive extradition on Thursday
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. — Luigi Mangione, charged in the early December murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, could be back in New York sooner rather than later.
An attorney for Mangione told CBS News New York on Wednesday he will waive extradition at his hearing in Pennsylvania on Thursday morning. That could put the suspect in front of a New York City judge for an arraignment on murder charges within hours.
“If he waives extradition, that should be quite quick,” said Anna Cominsky, a professor at New York Law School. “The idea is we want to be able to get him over here to answer the charges that are pending here in New York, so in a matter of a day or two at most.”
Cominsky was asked what the benefit would be of Mangione waiving extradition on Thursday.
“The benefit is he gets his New York case to start. We already know that Pennsylvania has said they are not going to move forward with their case until the New York case is completed, and so this means that once he’s here, he can actually be arraigned and the case can begin with respect to his New York charges,” she said.
If for some reason Mangione ends up contesting his extradition, a spokesman said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will quickly sign a special warrant that could get him back to New York City in a matter of days or weeks.
CBS News New York has learned new details about Mangione’s communication in the Pennsylvania prison where he’s being held. The 26-year-old suspect has received 40 emails and 53 pieces of mail since his arrest last week at an Altoona McDonald’s, and has had 158 deposits into his commissary account. He has also had three visitors. Not from family, but rather his three attorneys, including Manhattan prosecutor-turned-defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo.
Luigi Mangione indicted on murder, terrorism charges
Mangione was indicted Tuesday on 11 charges, including first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism, in the brazen assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month.
“This was a killing that, it was intended to evoke terror, and we’ve seen that reaction,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Tuesday.
“This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted murder that was intended to cause shock, attention and intimidation,” Bragg continued. “It occurred in one of the most bustling parts of our city, threatening the safety of local residents and tourists alike, commuters and business people just starting out on their day.”
The indictment also confirmed the words “deny” and “depose” were written on shell casings found at the scene, and “delay” was written on one of the bullets, an apparent nod to the “three Ds of insurance,” a phase used by critics of the industry.
“We really need to see more, with respect to why is it that the prosecutor believes that they have evidence that supports that terrorism charge. Why is it that they believe that it wasn’t just an intent to kill an individual but also to terrorize others, to put fear in others, which is required in order to substantiate that,” Cominsky said.
“We don’t celebrate murders”
The NYPD flagged what appears to be a wave of online support for Mangione from people expressing anger toward the health care industry, along with serious online threats since Thompson’s murder.
“There is no heroism in what Mangione did. This was a senseless act of violence, it was a cold and calculated crime that stole a life and put New Yorkers at risk,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
“We don’t celebrate murders and we don’t lionize the killing of anyone, and any attempt to rationalize this is vile, reckless and offensive to our deeply held principles of justice,” Tisch added.
CBS News
EPA grants California waiver to ban sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035; Trump administration likely to block
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday granted California its request to enforce vehicle emissions standards stricter than federal rules, including the state’s ban on sales of new gasoline-powered cars.
The EPA granted two waivers to the California Air Resources Board to allow full implementation of its regulation requiring all new car sales to be zero-emission by 2035 and a second rule lowering emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks and off-road vehicles.
The stricter rules would also set interim quotas for zero-emission vehicles. Starting with 2026 models, 35% of new cars, SUVs and small pickups sold in California would be required to be zero-emission vehicles, with quotas increasing each year until 2035.
The quotas would allow 20% of zero-emission cars sold to be plug-in hybrids. The rules would not affect used vehicles, allowing gas-powered car and trucks to remain on the roads.
Other states that have followed California’s lead on stricter emissions rules are weighing whether or not to also adopt the ban on gas cars.
Trump administration seeks to block California rules
California’s strict emission rules will likely see an immediate challenge from the incoming administration. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to bar the state from setting its own rules on emissions, which his first administration did in 2019 by revoking the state’s EPA waiver. The move prompted California and 22 other states to sue the administration, a lawsuit that became moot when President Joe Biden took office and reversed the Trump administration policy.
“Clean cars are here to stay. The Biden-Harris Administration reaffirmed what we’ve known for decades — California can rise to the challenge of protecting our people by cleaning our air and cutting pollution,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a prepared statement. “Naysayers like President-elect Trump would prefer to side with the oil industry over consumers and American automakers, but California will continue fostering new innovations in the market.”
Last month, Newsom announced the state would renew a rebate program for electric vehicles if the incoming Trump administration follows through on its threat to eliminate the federal tax credit of $7,500.
Efforts by the incoming administration to block California’s emissions standards will likely prompt a series of legal challenges that could delay any action.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a narrow case on whether the oil and gas industry has the standing to sue California over its tailpipe emission standards.
California’s battle to cut pollution levels
In granting California the waiver requests, the EPA said its review found that opponents did not meet the burden to show how either program is inconsistent with the federal Clean Air Act.
“California has longstanding authority to request waivers from EPA to protect its residents from dangerous air pollution coming from mobile sources like cars and trucks,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in a statement. “Today’s actions follow through on EPA’s commitment to partner with states to reduce emissions and act on the threat of climate change.”
California established the country’s first tailpipe emissions standards in 1966 and is the only state eligible for a waiver to the federal Clean Air Act of 1970, giving the EPA the authority to regulate pollution nationwide. The Clean Air Act also allows other states to adopt California’s standards. Since the Clean Air Act was established, the EPA has granted California more than 75 waivers for its vehicle emissions program.
Major automakers such as BMW, Ford, Honda, Stellantis and Volkswagen have adopted California’s current emission rules. Newsom said in a press release Wednesday that millions of Californians and other Americans have already switched to clean vehicles and more than two million zero-emission vehicles have been sold in the state.
Industry group Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which has consistently spoken out against California’s stricter emission rules, said Wednesday it expects President-elect Trump to revoke the waiver in 2025.
“We’ve said the country should have a single, national standard to reduce carbon in transportation, but the question about the general authority of California to establish a vehicle emissions program – and for other states to follow that program – is ultimately something for policymakers and the courts to sort out,” the group said in a press release.
Environmental groups hail EPA decision on California emissions
The advocacy group Earthjustice said the EPA’s decision would mean cars in the state would largely be zero-emission by the 2050s and the rule on heavy-duty truck emissions would “deliver critical health benefits to people affected by the worst polluters on the roads: large diesel trucks.”
“This might read like checking a bureaucratic box, but EPA’s approval is a critical step forward in protecting our lungs from pollution and our wallets from the expenses of combustion fuels,” said Earthjustice director of Right To Zero campaign Part Cort in a press release. “The gradual shift in car sales to zero-emissions models will cut smog and household costs while growing California’s clean energy workforce. Cutting truck pollution will help clear our skies of smog.”
The National Resources Defense Council said in a press release that Congress has long recognized the state’s ability to set stronger emissions standards which has help California spur innovation and save lives.
“These waivers allow California – and states that chose to align with it – to curb the pollution spewing from tailpipes and address the impacts of the climate crisis,” said NRDC director of clean vehicles Kathy Harris. “California decided that transitioning to cleaner and zero-emission vehicles is the best way to address the unique burdens it faces. This is exactly how our system of federalism should work. If other states don’t like California’s approach, they don’t need to follow it. But no one should object to the longstanding authority of states to act to protect their residents.”
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