Murder-suicide today.
Do we count this as one homicide, or two?
16th/17th of the year in Peoria.
Homicide/Suicide
PPD Incident #24-19850
(PEORIA, IL) Sunday, September 15, 2024, at approximately 2:16 p.m. Peoria Police were dispatched to the 2200 block of N. Flora on a welfare check.
When officers arrived at the above location, they knocked on the door and did not receive an answer.
While checking the windows from the outside of the residence police observed an adult female down inside a bedroom.
Members of the Peoria Fire Department responded and forced entry into the residence. Officers entered and discovered a deceased female (49 years old) with an apparent gunshot wound.
Police also located a deceased male (47 years old) lying near the female with an apparent gunshot wound.
The identity of the male and female and the causes of death will be released by the Peoria County Coroner.
Members of the Peoria Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division (CID), Crime Scene Unit (CSU), and Patrol Unit responded to the scene and initiated an investigation.
This incident remains under investigation.
If you have any information regarding any violent crimes, please contact the Peoria Police Department at (309) 673-4521, tip411 (anonymously), or Crime Stoppers (anonymously) at (309) 673-9000.
Sad way to start 2024
Peoria’s latest homicide is especially gut wrenching.
A 1-month-old baby boy was left to die in a hot vehicle, while the mother was high on cocaine:
UPDATE (3:30 p.m.) — When police arrived on North Peoria Avenue and saw a dead baby lying on a grassy lawn, they noticed the mother was acting “erratically” and could have been under the influence of “some sort of substance.”
And she tried to drive away with her baby but was blocked by family members just before 7 p.m. Monday. They were able to block her U-Haul pickup and grab Grayson, who was one month old and likely had been dead for a while.
Some of the swabs taken at the scene tested positive for cocaine, a Peoria County prosecutor said in open court.
And almost prophetically, police found a text message from her father to her imploring her to leave the baby with them. The text message said, “You know that baby can overheat and die, please let us help you, from dad to mom.”
——
Grayson is Peoria’s 18th homicide victim of the year.
A 1-month-old baby boy was left to die in a hot vehicle, while the mother was high on cocaine:
UPDATE (3:30 p.m.) — When police arrived on North Peoria Avenue and saw a dead baby lying on a grassy lawn, they noticed the mother was acting “erratically” and could have been under the influence of “some sort of substance.”
And she tried to drive away with her baby but was blocked by family members just before 7 p.m. Monday. They were able to block her U-Haul pickup and grab Grayson, who was one month old and likely had been dead for a while.
Some of the swabs taken at the scene tested positive for cocaine, a Peoria County prosecutor said in open court.
And almost prophetically, police found a text message from her father to her imploring her to leave the baby with them. The text message said, “You know that baby can overheat and die, please let us help you, from dad to mom.”
——
Grayson is Peoria’s 18th homicide victim of the year.
