Crime & Safety
Father Shot Wife, Daughters Before Turning Gun on Himself: Coroner
Autopsies on the Andrus family were completed Wednesday, officials said. Here are the latest details on this case.
By Darren McRoy
The four family members found dead Tuesday in an unincorporated Downers Grove home died from gunshot wounds to the face in a murder-suicide, officials confirmed.
The family was identified Wednesday as Jeana Andrus, 48, Jessica Andrus, 22, Jennifer Andrus, 16, and David Andrus, 50, the DuPage County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Their autopsies were completed Wednesday.
Find out what's happening in Bolingbrookfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The family had lived in Bolingbrook until a few years ago, when the family moved to a home on Oldfield Road, just outside of Darien.
The three female deaths in the family home were ruled homicides, and the male death was ruled a suicide, the DuPage County Sheriff's Office said. The daughters were shot at close range, and the man fired a gun into his own mouth, DuPage County Coroner Richard Jorgensen told the Daily Herald.
Find out what's happening in Bolingbrookfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"This is a seriously troubling time for our family," Andrus' nephew Bradley David Glass wrote in an email to the Tribune. "They were the best family you could ask for. They'd bend over backward for you and help as much as they could. I just pray that God is protecting them now."
The Andrus family deaths occurred at about 3:30 p.m. June 11 at their home, according to the Sheriff's Office. Sources in the Chicago Tribune and the Daily Herald suggest the father is the shooter but neither Jorgensen nor the Sheriff's Office have directly confirmed this, citing an open case.
"Sheriff Detectives believe that all individuals involved in this incident have been identified," the release said. "This is an ongoing investigation and no further information is available at this time."
Sources previously said that the deaths were being investigated as a man shooting three family members to death before committing suicide.
In a release, the DuPage County Coroner originally said that"it appears the [four] bodies received gunshot wounds" and that autopsies were being performed on Wednesday.
The Andrus family lives near the Tara Hill subdivision, and their house is just 100 yards from the site of the March 2010 triple-murder of the Kramer family. The highly public trial of the man who arranged it ended last month in a conviction.
Additionally, the Andrus surname is prominent in Darien history. According to the City of Darien website, in 1835, Thomas Andrus and his family were among the first settlers in Darien and operated the Andrus Inn. A street near the Andrus' house is called Andrus Road. (A neighbor, Kelly Glisan, told the Tribune that the Andruses were "an old-time, multi-generational family.")
According to the Daily Herald and WGN, the bodies were found in the brown house when police responded at 3:30 p.m. to a report of a disturbance.
Police blocked off Oldfield Road between Andrus and Robert Roads Tuesday afternoon, and it was still closed at 11 p.m. Tuesday when news vans and reporters began to disperse from the scene. Residents approached the area in cars and on foot throughout the day to see what was going on.
Some police or SWAT team officers in full gear were staged during the initial Tuesday afternoon call on Jennifer Mazzei's street, which is directly north of the property where the deaths occurred.
"They were coming back and getting their weapons and everything, so we knew something was up," Mazzei said. "It was scary here for awhile."
Patch Crime Editor Charles Menchaca contributed to this report.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
