Petty burglar gives himself death penalty

CHICAGO, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- A Chicago-area burglar unwittingly began his crime, was captured and sentenced himself to death, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Wednesday.

A woman in suburban Elgin told police she awoke at 5 a.m. Tuesday to make coffee and found the man's body hanging through her small kitchen window.

The suspected burglar, identified by police as Craig Petropoulos, 36, apparently had crawled headfirst through the first-floor window.

But he had a "large build," Elgin police said, and got stuck at the waist. His legs were dangling off the ground outside when officers arrived.

An autopsy ruled the 250-pound man died from "positional asphyxiation," police said.