An Indiana man has been arrested in what police called the “execution style” murder of an Illinois bar owner.
Julius E. Burkes Jr., 47, was arrested Tuesday at his Hammond, Indiana, home, according to WLS-TV.
Courtney Drysdale, 30, was killed Monday at a bar she owned in Momence, Illinois.
“It feels like a really big relief, if I’m being honest, that someone is in custody to do justice for Courtney, because he took a beautiful soul,” friend Hailey Gershon told the TV station.
“I mean it: She was probably the nicest person. I could always go to her for anything,” Gershon said.
“She would literally give up the whole world for somebody and would always be there for everybody, even though if she was upset or going through things. She would push those aside for others and, like, make sure they were happy.”
Although Burkes waived extradition, a judge ruled he will be held in Indiana due to charges against him in connection with an illegal entry that took place at his former girlfriend’s Indiana home.
🚨BREAKING: 30-year-old bar owner k*lled “execution-style” during a robbery; police release pictures of person of interest
Kankakee, IL, County Sheriff Mike Downey said the suspect entered the bar while Courtney M. Drysdale was opening it
He then pulled out a gun and demanded… pic.twitter.com/gjt5PYi8IK
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) February 3, 2026
Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey called Drysdale’s murder “devastating and horrific,” according to WMAO-TV.
“Courtney was deeply loved, not only by her family and her young daughter, but also by the many patrons and friends who lives she touched,” Downey said during a Tuesday news conference Tuesday. “This senseless act of violence has profoundly impacted our community.”
She was killed at about 11 a.m. Monday, when she was “going about her normal routine,” Downey said. As Drysdale prepared to open her bar, called The Line, near the Indiana state line, a man approached and demanded money from the register.
Illinois mom gunned down ‘execution style’ by alleged killer as she was opening up her bar https://t.co/aiPTFtNHiS pic.twitter.com/qVskkwNVtx
— New York Post (@nypost) February 5, 2026
Drysdale complied, but the suspect shot her twice, “execution style,” Downey said.
Downey said that before the suspect left the scene of the killing, he tried to remove a recording device.
According to WGN-TV, Burkes was free on bond in connection with another charge when Drysdale was killed.
Burkes faces a charge of residential entry, a level 6 felony, in connection with the Dec. 21 break-in at a Crown Point, Indiana, home. Police were summoned after a former girlfriend reported Burkes was knocking on her windows and doors.
He was later found inside the home and arrested.
Burkes had been charged with battery in 2014 in Kankakee County. His sentence was 12 months of supervised release.
An order of protection was taken out against Burkes for several months in 2017.
Cook County court records indicate that 1995, Burkes pleaded guilty to two counts of felony-murder. At that time, he was sentenced to 37 years in jail; he would serve less than half of that. He was 15 at the time of the 1994 crime.
In 2012, he was taken into custody in Cicero, Illinois, after not registering for the Illinois registry of convicted killers.
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