Man, 9-Year-Old Daughter Found Dead In Suspected Murder-Suicide In Lake Villa
LAKE VILLA, Ill. (CBS) -- A 9-year-old girl and her father were found dead Thursday afternoon in Lake Villa in a suspected murder-suicide.
At 2:15 p.m., Lake Villa police were called to a house in the 100 block of Briar Ridge Lane in the far north suburb, after the girl's mother called police to check on her daughter. The girl had been absent from school, police said.
Lake Villa police officers came into the home and found the girl dead. Her 36-year-old father was also dead at the scene, police said.
Police learned that the girl's mother and father live separately, but shared custody of the girl. On Wednesday, the girl's mother agreed to allow her to stay with her father overnight, police said.
When the girl was not in school the next day, the mother tried to call the father, but could not get a hold of him after several attempts, police said. Then she called police and asked them to do a wellbeing check.
The incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide. Police believe the man killed his daughter and then himself.
"This is an incredibly tragic set of circumstance and our deepest condolences go out to the family of the child," Lake Villa Chief Craig Somerville said in a news release. "I want to reassure the Lake Villa community that there is no evidence to suggest there is a threat to the public."
The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force has joined Lake Villa police in the investigation. The Lake County Coroner's office will conduct an autopsy on the man and the girl.
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