Buffalo Grove police responded to 14 domestic calls about Kisliak family before murder-suicide

Buffalo Grove police responded to more than a dozen calls for help before police say Andrei Kisliak stabbed his wife, two daughters and mother to death in an apparent murder-suicide in November, according to records obtained by the Chicago Tribune/Pioneer Press.

In response to public records requests, the village of Buffalo Grove released more than 100 pages of reports detailing 14 different encounters that its police officers had with Andrei and Vera Kisliak, dating back as far as 2011, when police arrested Andrei Kisliak for battering another woman, reports show.

Buffalo Grove police Chief Brian Budds has not responded to multiple requests for comment. Buffalo Grove Village Manager Dane Bragg also has not responded to phone calls from Chicago Tribune/Pioneer Press.

The records detail an escalation of trouble in recent months at the home on Acacia Terrace where the couple, their daughters, Vivian and Amilia, and Andrei’s mother, Lilia, were found dead on Nov. 30, with 12 calls in 2022 alone. Nine of those reports were made by Vera, with the first on July 11.

That day, Vera went to the Police Department and said Andrei had “taken possession of the keys of all four of their vehicles, has disconnected service to her cellphone, has changed the Wi-Fi password to the house and has taken full control of their finances leaving her with no money,” Officer Christos Tirovolas wrote in his report.

Vera Kisliak told police her husband “has done this in the past,” but that they had been able to work out issues. Her first call to police was in 2018, records show. This time she was “seeking legal assistance along with any other resources or services BGPD may be able to offer,” the officer wrote.

She was given contact information for the department’s social worker, and Buffalo Grove director of communications and community engagement Molly Gillespie confirmed by email that a police social worker was working with Vera Kisliak and her daughters “regularly to provide resources and referrals.”

Officers arrived at the Kisliak home on Acacia Terrace after Vera Kisliak called after 3 a.m. on July 28 and said Andrei had brought another woman into their basement.

Vera told police, according to reports, that she had already been in contact with a social worker and had an upcoming appointment about her domestic issues. Vera told police “she has no family or anywhere else to go out this time,” while also confirming that “nothing physical occurred between her and Andrei during this incident.” The children were present for the incident, and the report states they were asleep while it occurred.

Vera Kisliak then called Buffalo Grove police four times over nine days, on Aug. 20, 23, 24 and 28, according to the documents. Gillespie said calls on Aug. 23, 24 and 28 were among six domestic-related call responses that “concluded with referrals to social services and/or other relevant agencies.”

A spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services said Thursday the agency is looking into whether it received a report about the Kisliak family from Buffalo Grove police or another entity.

On Aug. 23, responding Buffalo Grove police Officer Marc Rossi wrote in his report that Vera Kisliak told officers that her husband had “started yelling at her and threatened to kill her,” prompting her to call police.

Rossi wrote that Vera told him Andrei “grabbed her phone and threw it to the ground,” and showed him the damaged phone while Andrei waited inside, then came out onto the porch and denied threatening to kill her or damaging the phone.

“We asked Vera if she had any evidence to substantiate her claim and she stated she did not,” Rossi wrote in the report. “She said she was scared to stay at the house tonight, so we offered to take her to a hotel.”

He wrote that Vera refused that offer, and said they suggested speaking with her lawyer to obtain an order of protection.

A woman who called police Aug. 24 said she witnessed Andrei Kisliak with his children and believed they were in a dangerous environment, according to reports. The witness, who asked to be identified only as Diana, questioned the way police handled the call.

“They told me that she was over-exaggerating,” she said on Thursday. “I was like, ‘What are you talking about? She needs her kids. Her kids are not safe here right now with him.’”

On Sept. 30, Vera Kisliak called authorities, and Buffalo Grove police arrested her husband for violating an order of protection granted two weeks earlier. Vera wrote in a sworn court affidavit that her husband had threatened to travel to Poland to murder her sister and that he threatened to kill Vera and “disfigure me in a way that no one will recognize me,” according to court records.

“(Andrei) keeps a gun at home,” Vera wrote in the affidavit, “and I am afraid that he will use it on me.”

Lake County Court records show Vera Kisliak obtained the order of protection against her husband on Sept. 14.

He left Lake County Jail after posting a $5,000 bond following his Sept. 30 arrest. The case went to court on Nov. 17, about two weeks before the murder-suicide. He was due back in court Dec. 13.

Gillespie confirmed that Andrei Kisliak turned over his gun on Oct. 24 following a court order.

The Dec. 28, 2011, call followed Andrei Kisliak’s domestic battery arrest. He told police the victim in that case had stolen money and some of his possessions while he was in custody.

The release of the reports this week follows a Dec. 19 letter from Chicago Tribune lawyers requesting the department to produce records responsive to Freedom of Information Act requests relating to the details of the department’s encounters with the Kisliak family and to refrain from destroying or erasing records relating to the case. Buffalo Grove police had denied Chicago Tribune/Pioneer Press FOIA requests in the weeks prior, claiming among other reasons, that they would obstruct an ongoing investigation.

Gillespie wrote in an email that the Buffalo Grove Police Department is still investigating the case.

“While the investigation is not yet complete, we are at a point in the investigative process where we are able to release all police reports for calls for service leading up to the November 30, 2022 wellness check request,” Gillespie wrote. “Of the calls for service involving the Kisliak family … 14 were domestic in nature.”

The village of Buffalo Grove has publicly posted the reports at www.vbg.org/2830acacia.

Records requests to Buffalo Grove police and the village for detailed records relating to their encounters with the Kisliaks, including body camera or dash camera footage from interactions in the months preceding the murders, remain unfulfilled.