Buffalo Grove murder-suicide: Evidence shows father killed family found dead in their home, officials say

The five people found dead in Buffalo Grove Wednesday were likely killed in a murder-suicide carried out by Andrei Kisliak, officials said Monday.

The preliminary investigation indicates Andrei Kisliak, 39, murdered his two daughters, 6-year-old Vivian Kisliak and 4-year-old Amilia Kisliak; his wife, Vera Kisliak, 36; and Lilia Kisliak, 67, Buffalo Grove Police Chief Brian Budds said in a Monday news release. Only Lilia Kisliak’s relationship to Andrei Kisliak hasn’t been confirmed by village officials. An animal was also found dead at the home, Budds said Thursday.

“It appears Andrei then inflicted wounds on himself and succumbed to those wounds,” Budds said in the news release. The Lake County Coroner’s autopsies of the five deceased, carried out Thursday, showed the cause of death for all the family members to be from “sharp force injuries.”

Buffalo Grove discovered the five dead Kisliak family members Wednesday at 11:12 a.m. after being called to the family’s home to conduct a well-being check. When no one answered, officers forced their way into the home and found the bodies inside, village officials said.

Police declined to publicly label the tragedy a murder-suicide in the four days following their gruesome discovery. Court records documenting divorce proceedings and financial struggle, as well as a troubling account of domestic hostility reported by the Tribune Thursday show the family faced turbulence.

One local woman had called the police on Andrei Kisliak in August after seeing him yell at his young daughters and treat them with noticeable hostility at a local cafe, she said. Police officers arrived and talked to the man, and he eventually left with his children, said the woman, who asked to not be identified.

“It’s too late now and it all could have been prevented,” she said.

Another neighbor said she had seen police cars come to the large, dark-brick house before.

“You never think it’s going to happen around here. But you also don’t know what’s going on in their lives,” said the woman, who also asked to not be named.

The Kisliak family faced a foreclosure and a contentious, ongoing divorce before Andrei Kisliak carried out the murder-suicide, court records show.

Both Vera and Andrei Kisliak filed for divorce on July 8. The last proceeding for their divorce was held Tuesday, the day before family members were found dead, according to court documents.

Vera Kisliak obtained an emergency order of protection against her husband on Sept. 14, and Buffalo Grove police arrested him on Sept. 30 for violating the protection order, additional court records reveal. He later left Lake County Jail after posting a $5,000 bond. The violation case last went to court on Nov. 17, and another hearing was scheduled for Dec. 13.

Andrei Kisliak was also charged with criminal contempt of court on Sept. 14. He was scheduled to go to court again Dec. 12 after Deerfield police cited him for littering in early October. He had also filed for an order of protection against Vera Kisliak in August, but his petition was denied.

On Nov. 9, a mortgage lending company opened a foreclosure case on the home where the murder-suicide occurred at 2830 Acacia Terrace. The company alleged it had received no mortgage payments since July 2020, according to court records.

Legal filings indicate that Andrei Kisliak had multiple closed court cases. A representative from the Lake County Circuit Court clerk said Thursday that some court records pertaining to Andrei were currently unavailable.

The day after the Kisliak’s bodies were discovered, a small collection of flowers and a teddy bear were placed outside their home. Neighbors shared their shock as community leaders mourned the deaths.

“My heart aches for family and friends of the five victims of this horrific event. I ask the community to come together in mourning this tragic loss in our beloved town,” Buffalo Grove Village President Beverly Sussman said in a statement to the Chicago Tribune.

School administrators described 6-year-old Vivian as “a happy, cheerful kid who enjoyed coming to school. She loved unicorns and dancing,” wrote Kildeer-Countryside District 96 Superintendent Kathryn Sheridan.