'Hate' Gangs Eyed in Judge-Kin Killings

Authorities said yesterday they are investigating whether the shooting deaths of a federal judge's husband and her frail, 89-year-old mother were the work of white supremacists out for revenge.

The killings came a month before white supremacist Matt Hale was scheduled to be sentenced for trying to have the judge, Joan Humphrey Lefkow, killed over her handling of a trademark dispute involving his hate group.

Police said they were looking at the possibility the crime was committed by hate groups but cautioned that it was "but one facet of our investigation."

Still, the talk all over Chicago was about Lefkow's involvement in the white supremacist case.

"There is much speculation about possible links between this crime and the possible involvement of hate groups. We are looking in many, many directions," said James Molloy, Chicago's chief of detectives.

The judge and other members of her family were placed under federal protection after the killings.

On Monday, the judge came home to discover the bodies of her husband, Michael Lefkow, 64, a lawyer, and her mother, Donna Humphrey, in the basement. A federal source said the victims had been shot in the head. Another source said that police found two .22-caliber casings and that a window at the house had been broken.