Now boarded up, a home on a quiet street in Grayslake sits empty.
Damaged from a fire in the early hours Tuesday morning when police rescued a 17-year-old boy from a second floor bedroom.
But the case quickly turned bizarre and bizarre and tragic.
“A lot of the evidence we recovered, there were some inconsistencies with the evidence and what the evidence was telling us, versus what the statements from the witnesses and people on the scene was telling us,” said Grayslake police Sgt. Joe Holtz.
Police say the boy had been shot in the head. A .38 caliber pistol recovered from inside the home. Investigators questioned his 64-year-old grandmother, Deborah St. Antoine-Brown.
“It was just an interview," said Grayslake police Chief Phil Perlini. "We obtained DNA and obtained fingerprints and probably spoke with her for 15 or 20 minutes.”
But just two hours after questioning her on Thursday afternoon police were notified that she had committed suicide. Jumping from the top floor of the parking garage at Loyola Medical Center in Maywood.
Police say that investigation was pointing toward St. Antoine-Brown.
“Well, she was a suspect," Holtz said. "We can tell you that much.”
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Police say St. Antoine-Brown had instructed her granddaughter, who also lived in the home to take an entire bottle of prescription medications. The girl took some but then sought medical attention at the emergency room.
Now neighbors are left wondering: what will happen to the two children left without their guardian?
“When stuff like that happens, the best you can do is hope you can get through it all and live a happy life afterwards,” said neighbor Bob Peterson.
The cause of the fire is undetermined. Police say both children are still in the hospital recovering. They hope to interview the teenage boy when he is able to speak to them sometime next week.
