Accused adulterer on trial for wife's fatal shooting in 2010

CHICAGO - What do you call an older married man who allegedly trolled for hookups at Chicago's infamous "Viagra Triangle"; who pursued a stand-up comedian, who'd described herself as "sex-on-wheels"; who did not call 911 for help for his mortally wounded wife; who allegedly told an emergency room nurse that he was "the life of the party" just after bringing his deceased wife to the hospital?

In about another week, a jury in Cook County, Ill. will call him guilty or not guilty of the murder of his wife of 34 years.

Allan and Jeanie Kustok lived in a sprawling suburban home in Orland Park, Ill. Allan was a sports medical supply salesman and Jeanie was an elementary school teacher. The well-liked couple also teetered on the brink of celebrity because of their two children, Zak and Sarah. Both kids were high achievers and high-profile. Sarah played basketball and Zak football. Both played their respective sports in college; Sarah played forward at DePaul and Zak was a quarterback at Northwestern.

After playing on several NFL practice squads, Zak eventually followed his father into the medical business. Sarah became a television sportscaster, first in Chicago and now in New York City where she covers the Brooklyn Nets.

On the evening of Sept. 28, 2010, Sarah texted her father about plans to have a surprise birthday party for her mother. But by the next morning, 58-year-old Jeanie Kustok was dead. A .357-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver had been fired, from close range, into Jeanie's face. The question a jury has to decide is - who pulled the trigger?

According to court testimony, Allan Kustok told police the gunshot woke him up sometime after 5 a.m. and next to him in bed lay his bleeding wife. Allen said his wife had shot herself with a gun he had bought her a year earlier for her own protection. Allan Kustok did not call 911 for help. Instead, he waited more than an hour to get his wife to Palos Community Hospital in Palos Heights, Ill. Kustok wrapped his wife in blood-soaked bedding and drove her to the hospital in his Toyota SUV, putting his wife's lifeless body in the passenger seat.

According to trial testimony of an emergency room nurse at the hospital, Allan Kustok inexplicably said he was "the life of the party" sometime after his arrival.

Kustok told police that the gunshot woke him. But according to court testimony, he told a different story to hospital personnel - telling them that he was in the bathroom when he heard the shot. The Cook County Medical Examiner ruled Jeanie Kustok's death a homicide and the Cook County States Attorney charged Allan Kustok with the murder of his wife saying Kustok's version of events was "improbable."

Kustok"s bond was set at $2 million dollars and he has been in custody ever since he was arrested on Oct. 1, 2010.

The trial has seen several women testify that Allan Kustok was looking for, if not love, sex. According to court testimony, Kustok's search was successful with a stand-up comic from Michigan in early 2010. He was not as successful with a realtor he met while he was hanging around a small triangular park on Chicago's near north side. It is a spot where legend has it older men can sometimes charm much younger women; thus its nickname, the "Viagra Triangle." More testimony of Allan Kustok's womanizing is expected before the case goes to the jury.

Meanwhile, Allan Kustok's defense lawyers have used any opportunity to describe Allan and Jeanie's marriage as "perfect." They warned the jury that the prosecution would try to paint Allan Kustok as a "bad man." To help counter that impression, Sarah Kustok is expected to take the stand on her father's behalf next week. But noticeably not taking the stand will be the Kustoks' son. Zak told the Chicago Sun-Times this week that he does not support his father.