Man, son dead of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning in Inverness; daughter hospitalized

INVERNESS, Ill. (CBS) -- A father and his 10-year-old son are dead, and his 6-year-old daughter is in the hospital, after police say it appears he poisoned them at his home in northwest suburban Inverness.

The children's mother and father are estranged. Police said she went to the home in Inverness on Sunday around 4:30 p.m., after the father did not return the young boy and girl at the scheduled time after visitation. She found them all unconscious in the home in the 2200 block of Palatine Road.

Police said they believe 41-year-old Woo Chang intentionally left a generator on inside the home, and he and the two children were overcome by carbon monoxide. He and their son, 10-year-old Austin Chang, were pronounced dead at the scene. Autopsies are scheduled for Monday. The couple's 6-year-old daughter, Jeslyn, was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.

A Palatine School District 15 spokesperson confirmed Austin was a student at Frank C. Whitely Elementary School in Hoffman Estates.

"The District is simply heartsick, and in both shock and mourning over the tragic loss of one of our students," the district said in a statement. "It goes without saying that this is a devastating loss for all of us here in District 15, especially as we look to the remainder of the school year where the child's absence will be felt by classmates and staff."

A records search by CBS 2 showed Chang did not have a criminal background.

In a phone interview, the children's mother asked for privacy as her daughter continues to fight for her life.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with burial costs and medical expenses.