Mother Killed In Joliet Slaying Identified: Coroner

JOLIET, IL — A 21-year-old man faces first-degree murder charges after Joliet police said he called 911 on Wednesday to turn himself in, later telling officers he had killed someone inside his home on Langsford Lane. Officers responded to the home and found a 49-year-old woman, since identified as the 21-year-old's mother, who had been shot to death.

Justen Holman has been charged with first-degree murder in his mother's death, police said. On Thursday, the Will County Coroner identified the victim as Bernadette Quasie of Joliet. Quasie was pronounced dead at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in an apparent homicide, Will County Coroner Laurie Summers said.

Summers said that Quasie's final cause and manner of death are pending an autopsy and toxicology reports, the coroner's office announced on Thursday afternoon.

Officials say Holman called the police just before 1 p.m. Wednesday, saying he wanted to turn himself in for an unknown crime.

Police arrived at the 1500 block of North Larkin Avenue and took Holman into custody, and officials say he told officers he had killed someone at his home in the 6400 block of Langsford Lane, which has a Plainfield mailing address.

Officers also arrived to conduct a wellness check at the home on Langsford Lane, where they Holman's 48-year-old mother unresponsive with gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene by the Will County Coroner.

Police took Holman to the Joliet Police Department for questioning and said on Thursday that the gun believed to have been used in the shooting had been recovered.

Holman was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday afternoon.