Suspect in Illinois double murder shoots himself in standoff with Edina police

A Minnesota man wanted for double murder in Illinois shot himself during a standoff with Edina police Friday night, five days after authorities say he gunned down his ex-wife and her husband.

Anatoliy Ermak, 64, remained in critical condition at HCMC Saturday.

Officers responded to the 6000 block of Vernon Avenue just after 8 p.m. Friday on a tip about a wanted criminal. There they found an armed man sitting in a white Nissan Versa hatchback outside a residential apartment complex. The car matched the description of a vehicle with Florida plates rented by Ermak several days ago, ahead of the slayings.

Over the next 90 minutes, a negotiator tried to communicate with Ermak. But he remained in the car and ultimately shot himself once, said Joel Bonstrom, a crime analyst with Edina police. No one else was injured.

Nataliya Ermak, 55, and her husband, Roman Frid, 69, were fatally shot Nov. 17 in their condominium parking garage in Buffalo Grove, a northwestern suburb of Chicago.

In a news conference, Buffalo Grove Police Chief Steven Casstevens identified Anatoliy Ermak as the suspect. He and Nataliya Ermak divorced eight years ago, but investigators have not yet determined a clear motive, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Surveillance footage showed Ermak lying in wait for the couple as they pulled into their underground parking space. Police say he briefly spoke to the pair, shot them at close range, then left through a side door.

A warrant was issued for his arrest on Wednesday for two counts of first-degree murder.

Court records show that Ermak's last known address is the Edina condo where police confronted him. He and Nataliya purchased the property together in 2004 and appeared as co-owners on legal documents as recently as this year.

Ermak has a previous criminal conviction in Hennepin County for disorderly conduct. In 2007, police were called twice to the home for domestic assault incidents between him and Nataliya, according to the Pioneer Press.

Liz Sawyer • 612-673-4648