Parolee Proposed to Girlfriend Using Murder Victim's Wedding Rings, Prosecutors Say

CHICAGO – A man on parole for attempted murder fatally beat and robbed an elderly nurse, then stole her wedding and engagement rings and used them to propose to his girlfriend, prosecutors charged Thursday.

The Chicago Tribune reported Raymond Harris, 36, was ordered held without bail on charges of first-degree murder and armed robbery in the slaying of Virginia Perillo, 73, who lived on the city's south side.

According to prosecutors, Harris attacked Perillo in her garage Oct. 22. The Chicago Sun Times quoted sources as saying she had just returned from visiting her sick husband at an area hospital.

Perillo, who never regained consciousness, died the next day.

Prosecutors said on the night of the attack, Harris went to a party in new clothes and showed off the stolen rings, asking which one he should use to propose.

According to the Tribune, he wound up proposing with both rings, which authorities later found on his fiancee's finger.

Harris, who was arrested Tuesday, was convicted in 1997 of attempted murder and aggravated arson after breaking into a Chicago home, raping and beating a woman and setting three fires in her house.

The woman survived with third-degree burns.

Harris was paroled in May.