Illinois Mom Was Trying to Oust Husband From Home When She Disappeared

The day she disappeared, Illinois mom Lisa Stebic mailed a petition to evict her husband from their home while their divorce was pending so she and her children could "live in peace," according to news reports.

Stebic's petition for temporary eviction of her husband, Craig Stebic, states he was being "unnecessarily relentless, cruel, inconsiderate, domineering and verbally abusive," reports The Joliet Herald News. His behavior was "jeopardizing the mental well-being" of their children, she wrote.

Lisa Stebic felt his verbal abuse was affecting her mental and physical well-being, according to her petition.

Click here to read The Herald News story

The Chicago Tribune also reported the story.

Reached by phone Wednesday evening, Craig Stebic said he was unaware of the eviction petition. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he told the The Chicago Tribune.

The Stebics were in the midst of a divorce; proceedings began in December. The couple lived in the same house but rarely spoke.

Craig Stebic's attorney, Dion Davi, denied the abuse allegations to the Tribune, noting the couple cited irreconcilable differences in their divorce action. He said Lisa Stebic was never in danger from her husband.

"There were no allegations of distress between the two parties," he told the Tribune.

Craig Stebic told FOX News that he never laid a hand on his wife and was not abusive. He also said reports that his wife had visited a battered women's shelter are not true.

That petition was included in a motion filed Wednesday by her attorney, Glenn Kahn, as a response to Craig Stebic's motion for temporary custody of the couple's two children, Zack, 10, and Lexi, 12. Craig Stebic filed that motion last week. His lawyer told FOX News the move was aimed at protecting the children, but he would not elaborate.

Kahn said the petition to evict was not filed immediately with the court because Kahn didn't receive the signed copy until after Stebic was reported missing, the Tribune reported. He submitted it in court Wednesday as evidence to contest Craig Stebic's filing for temporary sole custody of the children.

Lisa's petition suggested Craig Stebic could live in his father's home while still paying the mortgage and utilities for the Plainfield house until their divorce was final, The Herald News reported. It also said Lisa did not have local family or friends with whom she could stay.

Lisa Stebic, 37, was last seen about 6 p.m. April 30 at her Red Star Drive home in Plainfield, Ill. The mother of two worked at a local school cafeteria so she could be home in the afternoons with her kids. She disappeared around 6 p.m. April 30, while her husband was in the backyard and her two children were out.

Plainfield police and the FBI are examining Lisa Stebic's car, which was left at the house when she disappeared; Craig Stebic told police he thought someone picked her up that night.

"We have no additional leads or info on Lisa's whereabouts," Plainfield Police Chief Donald Bennett told FOX News Wednesday night.

"For the last two weeks we have done extensive searches, both in the immediate area around Lisa's house. We checked waterways with divers," Bennett continued. "We have to make the assumption she may not have left of her own free will. So we're working from the house outward from there."

Police executed a search warrant on the Stebics' home Monday night; the search lasted about 4-1/2 hours.

Lisa is 5-foot-2, weighs 120 pounds and has long brown hair and brown eyes. She has two visible tattoos, a small rose on her ankle and a large butterfly on her lower back. Anyone with any information is asked to call the Plainfield Police Department at 815-267-7217.

Her family created a Web site, www.findlisastebic.com, to aid efforts to find her and are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts.

FOXNews.com's Liza Porteus and Megyn Kelly contributed to this report.