In October 2012, Gena Chiodo was reported missing after she failed to show up for her job as a beautician. On Tuesday, her boyfriend, Donol Clark, was put on trial for murder, after what Chiodo’s loved ones say has been an arduous and long-delayed justice process.
“Her dad has passed away,” said Chiodo’s friend Donna Wuchter. “Her mom had a stroke. I mean, they’re not even gonna see this.”
Cook County Judge Carl Boyd is hearing the case in the Markham courthouse, and will render the verdict in the bench trial.
Chiodo’s former manager, Lorena Solorzano, testified Wednesday that she called police when Chiodo didn’t show up for work multiple days in a row, which was unusual.
“We suspected she was in an abusive relationship,” Solorzano said, prompting an objection from Clark’s lawyers that the judge sustained.
Officers from the Calumet City Police Department were sent to perform a well-being check. Officer Gary Wojcik was first on the scene, and he testified that friends of Chiodo’s approached him at the house expressing concern about her.
Another officer knocked repeatedly at the door, but there was no answer, though Wojcik said the officers could see someone was inside. Eventually, he said, more officers were called and police forced the door open.
Clark was inside. Chiodo was not.
Kevin Rapacz, a Calumet City police sergeant, testified he saw what appeared to be blood splattered throughout the house, including on a bed and on the stairs leading from the kitchen to the back door and basement.
“You could see it as you walk through the house,” Rapacz said.
Then-Calumet City police Chief Edward Gilmore announces murder charges against Donol Clark in the killing of Clark’s girlfriend, Gena Chiodo, in 2012. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Friends and family of Gena Chiodo wait to attend an October 2012 hearing at the Markham courthouse for Donol Clark, charged with murder in Chiodo’s death. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
The bathroom appeared to have been recently cleaned, with the towels and shower curtain missing and a strong odor of bleach in the air, Rapacz said.
Rapacz also testified that he and another officer found an apparently blood-stained area rug, shower curtain and articles of women’s clothing in garbage cans in the alley.
Prosecutors showed a video of Mitch Growe, then a Calumet City detective, questioning Clark about the location of Chiodo’s body.
“I want to be able to give closure to the family,” Growe said in the recording.
In the video, Clark expressed concern about going to prison and asked what the difference was between a murder and manslaughter charge.
More than a month after her disappearance, in December 2012, a hunter found Chiodo’s body in a wooded area outside Lowell, Indiana. By that time, Clark had been arrested, charged with murder and ordered held without bail.
Patricia Nasella, left, and Sherry Nickias listen in 2011 as then-Calumet City police Chief Edward Gilmore announces murder charges against Donal Clark, the boyfriend of their friend Gena Chioto. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
However, in the 13 years since, Chiodo’s friends and family have been disappointed by the frequent delays and interruptions in the case.
“We’ve all been following this for all this time,” Wuchter said. “We want this over and we want justice for Gena. She deserves it.”
Wuchter said Chiodo loved animals and was “one of the sweetest people you’d ever know.”
“You always knew where Gena was, because she had a laugh that was infectious,” Wuchter said. “When you walked in anyplace, a bar, anywhere, and you heard that laugh, you knew Gena was there.”
Wuchter and other supporters hope to see Clark sentenced to life in prison.
“I hope he never gets to touch another woman,” Wuchter said. “We want him to go away for as long as possibly can be done so he can never hurt anybody else again.”
elewis@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/04/murder-trial-donol-clark-gena-chiodo/
