Bolingbrook Patch's 10 Most Read Stories of 2011

It's always fun to look back on the year that was. And the news industry is no different. 

Here at Bolingbrook Patch, we posted more than 2,500 articles this year, ranging from police and fire news to intimate features and a look at the most important issues facing Bolingbrook at the time.

Here's a look back on the most read stories of the year, based on our internal metrics.

10. 

A 30-year-old Bolingbrook man was sent to jail after police say he sent a text message photo of himself engaging in sexual conduct with an 8-year-old girl to the girl's mother.

Bolingbrook Police Lt. Mike Rompa said officers arrested William Freund, 30, of the 400 block of Seminole Lane, and charged him with child pornography and predatory sexual assault of a child.

The alleged crime was reported Sept. 19 by the girl's mother. Rompa said the mother and child used to live with Freund. Police believe the mother and Freund had been in a relationship.

According to one report, prosecutors said they found more than 130 naked photos of the victim and videos of the girl performing sex acts.

9. 

After more than 48 hours of searching for Jeremy Asbell, the 25-year-old man with roots in Bolingbrook, police found the his dead body in a Lemont retention pond on Aug. 4.

Preliminary results of an autopsy indicated Asbell died of an accidental drowning, according to a release from the DuPage County Coroner's Office. The report also stated there was no indication of foul play or suspicious circumstances.

Asbell went missing near the pond, where he was last seen at a party with friends.

Asbell was a 2004 graduate of Romeoville High School, where he wrestled and played football. On his Facebook page, he listed his current residence as Darien and his hometown as Bolingbrook.

He is survived by two sons, ages 6 years and 21 months.

8. 

Restaurant openings tend to get lots of page views amongst Bolingbrook Patch readers. 

The opening of Osaka Grill and Supreme Buffet was no different. 

The buffet-style restaurant, which opened June 2 and is located at 121 S. Weber Rd. inside the Country Aire shopping center, shares a storefront with the  and offers little more than a few window panels for an entrance. 

But walk in and small will be the last word that comes to mind—whether referring to the 12,000-square-foot restaurant itself or the sushi rolls it serves.

Osaka Grill specializes in Japanese, Chinese, American and multicultural cuisine, and according to its website, showcases a Hibachi Style Grill where customers can select their own meats and vegetables and have it cooked by a professional Hibachi chef while watching their meal be prepared right in front of them.

7. 

In June, Bolingbrook Patch acquired the health inspections to every restaurant in town. Some of the results were surprising. 

In this portion of the series, we profiled the 10 most clean restaurant. 

Leading the way? Baskin Robbins, Starbucks and Lou Malnati's.

6. 

The follow up to the news that Jeremy Asbell was found dead in a Lemont retention pond. 

Those who knew Asbell said he always had a smile on his face.

The Bolingbrook native and 2004  graduate was  after he and a friend were tossed from a canoe that capsized on the pond. 

Crews discovered Asbell's body after  the pond, at Frontage Road and Woodward Avenue. Preliminary results of an autopsy indicate Asbell died of an accidental drowning and there is no indication of foul play or suspicious circumstances, according to a release from the DuPage County Coroner's Office.

“I used to work with Jeremy at Plato's Pizza, as well as his brother Jeff,” said Johnny Lopez on the Bolingbrook Patch Facebook page. “I also played football and wrestled with him at RHS. He was a great worker as well as an amazing athlete.

"We always had a great time. Jeremy always had a smile on his face and I never [saw] him in a bad mood. I saw him [two] Fridays ago. We caught up on a lot and then parted ways. I'm glad I had the chance to know him.”

5. 

Three undercover members of the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad, including two Bolingbrook police officers, were arrested April 5 after allegedly getting into a fight at a Peoria strip club.

Members of the squad went to Big Al’s strip club while in Peoria for an enforcement conference. After one of the members failed to show identification, bouncers told them they could leave if unhappy and a 34-year-old Bolingbrook police officer told the bouncer, “I’m leaving anyway. Why don’t you try and make me.”

Another Bolingbrook officer, 40, became involved as the dispute went into the club’s parking lot.

Names of the officers were not released because they were undercover agents.

All of the officers involved had their charges dropped by the Peoria State's Attorney's office.

Internally, no punishment to the Bolingbrook officers has been made public and the police department has said the case is closed. 

4. 

The third of the Jeremy Asbell stories to make our 10 most read list. This one was written after authorities had suspended their search for the day.

According to Battalion Chief Jim Sheldon, the search was temporarily halted around 3 p.m. in the retention pond where Asbell's canoe reportedly tipped over early Tuesday morning.

Three trucks from the DuPage County Public Works Department arrived on the scene with large pumps to lower water levels.

"We haven't picked up anything at all, so this will hopefully help us see a little bit better when we go out again," he said.

Sheldon described the pond as "very dark and murky," and said the dense weeds were making it difficult for them to pick up anything in the water.

Asbell would be found the next day in the pond.

3.

The natural follow up to our 10 Cleanest Restaurants post. In this article, we profiled the 10 most dirty restaurants in Bolingbrook, according to county documents.

The worst of the worst? Bismillah Market. 

Want to see the rest? .

2.

Bolingbrook residents waited patiently for months for the new  to open. 

That wait ended April 5, when Honey-Jam, the Portillo's Restaurant Group's venture into the world of breakfast, opened just behind  restaurant near the intersection of Boughton Road and Route 53.

The Bolingbrook location was the restaurant's third of its kind—two other locations are in Batavia and Downers Grove.

The restaurant also has a Caffe Express-O, which features a selection of coffees, lattes and cappuccinos and baked goods.

1.

A Bolingbrook woman was found dead in her bathroom on Friday, Dec. 2, and her son, Michael Marzo, 23, was believed to be behind the murder.

Marzo was later charged with one count of first-degree murder with intent to kill or do great bodily harm and two counts of first-degree murder with a strong probability of death or great bodily harm, in the death of his mother, Shirley Marzo, 53.

Shirley Marzo was found after police responded to a 911 call regarding a domestic dispute between a mother and her son at 3:45 p.m.

 Lt. Michael Rompa said a female caller told dispatchers that her mother was dead. Officers responding to the home at 513 Nassau Ave. discovered Marzo in the bathroom with apparent stab wounds to her back.

Michael Marzo was later found in Chenoa, a town about 85 miles south of Bolingbrook, and is now in custody.