Girlfriend, Secret Lover, Charged In Bridgeview Man's Slaying: Police

BRIDGEVIEW, IL — The girlfriend of a man slain in the parking lot of his Bridgeview apartment was charged Saturday evening with plotting with her co-worker and secret lover to kill Arturo Cantu, 39, who was shot earlier this week walking to his remote-started car.

Agnieszka Rydzewski, 33, was charged with solicitation to commit murder. Earlier Saturday, her lover, 20-year-old Anthony Calderon, of Bedford Park, had already been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of Cantu, and was ordered detained during a pretrial hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building.

Rydzewski and Calderon were co-workers at a local McDonald’s and had a secret relationship, prosecutors said during Calderon’s pretrial hearing Saturday afternoon. The two are accused of plotting Cantu’s murder. Rydzewski is set for a detention hearing Sunday at 26th and California.

Bridgeview police said Cantu was fatally shot as he placed items in his car after he remote-started it, Cook County prosecutors said.

Around 5 a.m. Wednesday, Cantu left his apartment in the 7300 block of West 79th Street after starting his car by remote. As Cantu walked to his car on the side of his Bridgeview apartment building, the prosecutor said he was confronted by a masked gunman — later identified as Calderon — in the parking lot. Prosecutors said Cantu took out his pocket knife in an attempt to defend himself when Calderon shot him twice.

>>> Unknown If Shooter Waited By Remote-Started Car In Bridgeview Slaying

Bridgeview officers found four 9 mm shell casings near Cantu’s vehicle. Police were also able to find video footage at a nearby business that captured a red car parking behind the store. The prosecutor said Calderon got out of the vehicle wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, navy blue shorts, black and white shoes and a blue surgical mask.

The prosecutor said Calderon was captured on video walking toward the parking lot where Cantu’s vehicle was parked. The masked person went out of view when minutes later multiple gunshots could be heard on the video, the prosecutor said. The gunshots matched the time of the shooting.

Anthony Calderon, 20 | Bridgeview Police Department

Calderon reappeared on video running to the red car in the store lot before fleeing, the prosecutor said. Police found the vehicle on Thursday at a nearby McDonald's where Calderon worked with Cantu’s girlfriend, the prosecutor said. The vehicle seen in surveillance video was registered to Calderon, according to the court documents.

Cantu's body was found on the side of his apartment building, where he was pronounced dead at the scene, said Chief Ricardo Mancha, of the Bridgeview Police Department.
Working with the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, Bridgeview police were able to obtain surveillance video from nearby businesses.

Using video and other methods, detectives were able to determine the person on video connected to the murder was the same approximate height and weight as Calderon. He was arrested Friday coming out of his home in the 7700 block of West 65th Street in Bedford Park.

Agnieszka Rydzewski, 33 | Bridgeview Police Department

Once in custody, Bridgeview police said Calderon made a full and complete admission to fatally shooting Cantu, describing the date, time and location of the murder. Calderon is also alleged to have given statements leading investigators to the clothing he was wearing and the weapon.

Detectives conducted a cell phone investigation, and officials said GPS data placed him at the scene of the homicide and the flight route.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved first-degree murder charges late Friday evening.

Cantu's children, Jonathan, 12, and Kayla, 10, who lived with their mother, told ABC7 Cantu was a great dad and was always helping people.

Mancha calls the shooting an isolated incident. The motive is still under investigation.

Calderon is due back in court May 21 at the Bridgeview Courthouse. Calderon has no prior criminal background.

~ This story has been updated with new information.