Angry Ex-Boyfriend Kills Winning Dancer, Her Son

A teen-ager called an emergency number and pleaded for help as he and his mother were fatally attacked by her ex-boyfriend, who was enraged at losing a dance contest to her, police said today.

“It was a brutal and heinous crime over something trivial,” Police Chief Carl Wolf said. “It was like a horror movie.”

Authorities said Robyn L. Bonstell broke into the apartment of Judith A. Lynch, 37, early Wednesday and beat her to death with a barbell. Bonstell also allegedly shot to death the woman’s son, Shawn, 14, and seriously wounded her daughter, Shannon, 11.

Police said the girl managed to identify her attacker before lapsing into unconsciousness.

The girl was listed in satisfactory condition today in the intensive care unit of DePaul Health Center. But hospital officials said she lost an eye because of a gunshot to the head.

Bonstell, who was found in blood-stained clothes hiding beneath a stairwell in his home, told authorities he was angry because he had finished fourth in a dancing contest Tuesday night won by Judith Lynch and her partner, Wolf said. The suspect and Lynch had belonged to a dance club and dated until a year ago, the police chief said.

Bonstell, 33, a hairdresser, was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action and one count each of first-degree burglary and assault, Wolf said.