Illinois man hired teen to kill parents with hammer, police say

Joshua Miceli, 23 (left) is accused of hiring Michael Targo, 18, (right) to kill his parents with a hammer. (DuPage County Sheriff's Office)

The 23-year-old son of an Illinois couple has been charged with hiring a man to try and kill them.

The DuPage County Sheriff’s Office said the couple was attacked by a man wielding a hammer at around 2:50 a.m. Sunday. The two were in their home in an unincorporated area near the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn.

The couple sustained serious injuries but are in stable condition. They provided a description of their attacker, the sheriff’s office said.

The suspect, Michael Targo, 18, was located and apprehended at a nearby business soon after the attack.

Law enforcement said that during the investigation it was determined that the teenager was part of a murder-for-hire plot involving the victims’ son, Joshua Miceli.

The 23-year-old Miceli was questioned and allegedly implicated himself in the plot, authorities said.

Miceli allegedly offered to pay Targo an undisclosed amount of money if he attacked his parents with a hammer, “leaving them with serious injuries,” police said.

“I would like to praise our deputies for quickly apprehending these dangerous criminals and the investigators who were able to put the pieces together so swiftly,” DuPage County Undersheriff Frank Bibbiano said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of their heinous crime and we hope for their speeding recovery.”

Both men were arrested and charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder. Miceli is also facing two counts of solicitation of murder.

They are being held without bail.