'Pure Evil Madman' Murdered 2 Girls and Their Father: Chief

Hazel Crest, IL — Two young girls were shot to death alongside their father in south suburban Hazel Crest on Saturday in what may have been a dispute over a drug debt. The children were 3 and 10 years of age.

The killer or killers remain at large.

The man of the house, Dionus Neely, 39, was targeted.

This week, the village of Hazel Crest put up a $5,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of the person or persons who perpetrated this triple murder.

On Sunday, a plea was made for information.

"Somebody knows about what transpired. Look inside yourself, look into your heart, come forward and tell us what you know," Hazel Crest Police Chief Mitchell Davis III said at a press conference. "There's not a madman out killing kids, there's a madman who killed some kids. ...

"Anyone who could kill a 3-year-old and a 10-year-old, no matter what the circumstances were, that’s nothing but pure evil."

Police responded to a 2:30 a.m. Saturday call of "shots fired" in the 2400 block of Crescent Drive on Saturday and officers found all three inside the bullet-riddled home. Paramedics rushed Neely and his daughters, India Neely, 3, and Elle Neely, 10, to local hospitals but they succumbed to their injuries.

ABC 7 Chicago's Ben Bradley reports that a source told him the father's unpaid drug debt was the reason for the killing. Dionus Neely has a 20-year record of drug arrests and was sentenced to four years in prison for a 2008 felony cocaine conviction.

His prison record notes Neely had the phrase "death before dishonor" tattooed on his shoulder.

The gunman or gunmen disappeared into the night.

Anyone with information may call 708-335-9640, extension 1, to reach investigators.

“If you know something, say something," the chief said. "I don’t care where you’re from, if you somebody or know something that was involved in this particular incident, please let us know."

Police have said little about the crime or the investigation other than that there is no general threat to the community. They removed evidence from the home, including a large couch, and trail-sniffing dogs helped police officers search the neighborhood.

Bullet holes, labeled for evidence on Saturday, could be seen on the outside of the house. Stray shots also struck a neighbor's house.

Three other children who live in the house were playing at a neighbor's home on Friday night. A neighbor told NBC 5 Chicago the gunshots woke her up and she heard a woman screaming and crying.

"She was just wailing, 'My babies, my babies,'" Joanne Polzin told NBC. "I didn't know it was them until the police all showed up.

"I saw them take the three bodies out."

Another neighbor, who wasn't home overnight, said she found a bullet hole in her bedroom wall.

Police officers and fire department crews who responded to the scene are getting counseling for what they saw, according to Hazel Crest Mayor Vernard Alsberry Jr., who came to the house after first responders arrived.

"Just to hear that children were involved in this horrific incident really hurt all of our hearts," the mayor told NBC.

"Her smile would just light up the room," Kebr said. "She had the biggest, brightest smile."

Dionus Neely was pronounced dead at 3 a.m. at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. Elle and India were pronounced dead at South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest at 2:59 a.m. and 3 a.m.

The South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force is assisting Hazel Crest police in the investigation.

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