Park Ridge Police: Man found dead in parking lot was strangled

Police believe a Chicago man found dead in a commuter parking lot near train tracks in Park Ridge was strangled, officials said Friday afternoon.

Police have identified the man as Henry W. Nowak, 39, of the 6700 block of North Oshkosh Avenue. Nowak lived near the Edison Park Metra station, one stop south of the Park Ridge station where he was found Thursday morning.

A passerby saw the body at 2:18 a.m. Thursday in the parking lot on the 200 block of South Summit Avenue near the Metra tracks. Before the autopsy was conducted, police originally said he did not have any visible signs of trauma.

It is not clear if the man was killed in the parking lot or if the crime took place elsewhere, said Police Chief Frank Kaminski.

Investigators are talking to friends and family to try to determine where Nowak was that night and who might have seen him last.

“We’ll be working on this all weekend,” Kaminski said.

Park Ridge police are being assisted by the northwest suburban Major Case Assistance Team.