Illinois family members killed by ‘blunt force trauma’

By Calvin Palmer

The five family members murdered in a small farming community in Illinois were killed by “blunt force trauma”.

Logan County Sheriff Steven Nichols yesterday reported the autopsy findings but declined to give any further details.

Police finished combing the crime scene in Beason on Wednesday.

“The forensic evidence in this case is significant,” Nichols said. He said there were hundreds of fingerprints, blood samples and DNA evidence but did not elaborate

Raymond “Rick” Gee, 46, and Ruth Gee, 39, were found dead in the home on Monday with their children, 16-year-old Justina Constant, 14-year-old Dillen Constant and 11-year-old Austin Gee.

The youngest daughter, three-year-old Tabitha Gee, who survived the attack, was in critical but stable condition yesterday. Nichols said her injuries also were caused by blunt force.

He appealed to the public for help in tracing a gray pickup truck, possibly a Ford painted only in primer, which was spotted in the area late on Sunday.

The head of the Logan County Emergency Management Agency, Dan Fulscher, said yesterday that the 911 call was made by someone who entered the house and saw bloody bodies “and very quickly got out of there”.

Nichols said the emergency call was made about 4:30 p.m. on Monday.

Beason is a community of a few hundred residents and located about 140 miles southwest of Chicago.

[Based on a report by the Associated Press.]