Four teens made their first appearances in Will County Court Monday after being accused of brutally murdering two young men in Joliet.
Police said the teens lured best friends Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins, both 22, to a house where they were robbed and strangled. Officers found Glover and Rankins' partially dismembered bodies when they were called to the home Thursday afternoon, police said.
Adam M. Landerman, 19; Alisa R. Massaro, 18; Bethany L. McKee, 18; and Joshua F. Miner, 24, were charged with six counts of first-degree murder and are being held on $10 million bail.
Police said when officers arrived all but McKee were in the home playing video games, with the bodies nearby.
All four suspects appeared in court by way of TV monitors. Two were assigned public defenders and two retained private counsel. Massasro's family hired George Lenard, the attorney who represented Christopher Vaughn.
“This is one of the most brutal, heinous and upsetting things I’ve ever seen in my 27 years of law enforcement,” Police Chief Mike Trafton said Friday. “Not only the crime scene, but the disregard for common decency toward human beings.”
On Sunday, the families and friends of of Glover and Rankins prayed for strength during an emotional candlelight vigil.
"They took my husband away from me and they took a dad from my daughter, " said Heather Gossman, Glover's girlfriend. "She will never see her dad again."
Glover's mother, Nicole Jones, vowed to be at every court hearing for the suspects.
"Every court date, every day, I'm gonna be there," Jones said. "I'm gonna make sure my son and his friend get justice."
All suspects are due back in court Feb. 5.
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