Inverness Dad Poisons Children; Kills Son, Injures Daughter: Police

INVERNESS, IL — A 10-year-old Inverness boy died on Sunday and his sister is in critical condition after police said that their father poisoned them with carbon monoxide and then died himself.

Inverness Police said that officers were called to the home in the 2200 block of Palatine Road at 4:20 p.m. for a wellness check after the children’s mother called police to say that their father had not returned the children after a weekend visit, police said.

The mother had gone to the home and found the 10-year-old boy, his 6-year-old sister, and her estranged husband unconscious inside the house, police said on Monday.

Police chief Bob Haas told the Daily Herald that police found a gas-powered generator inside the home and that it was turned on but had stopped running after it ran out of fuel.

"It appears the victims were overcome by carbon monoxide," Haas said in a news release.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the boy as Austin Chang and the man as Woo Chang, 41. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The girl, who has not been publicly identified, was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where she is listed in critical condition.

Police said the children’s mother had been in contact with them on Saturday night. Haas told the Daily Herald that police had not been to the home before Sunday.

Autopsies are scheduled on Chang and the 10-year-old boy on Monday afternoon, officials said.