Rockford authorities said Thursday that the bodies of a missing woman and her boyfriend were found in a park and the man suspected in their deaths, her estranged husband, shot and killed himself following a police pursuit.
Officers obtained a warrant Wednesday for the arrest of 26-year-old Hand Son on two charges of kidnapping in the disappearance of his estranged wife, 22-year-old Danielle Son, and her boyfriend, 25-year-old Sergio Quiroz, Rockford Police Chief Dan O’Shea said at a news conference Thursday. [[474855553, C]]
Authorities responded to Danielle Son's home in the 800 block of 10th Avenue just after 10 a.m. on Monday for a missing person report, police said in a statement.
Family members of Danielle Son told officers that they had not been able to reach her since Saturday, according to police. Danielle Son’s family went to the home and found her children, a 2-year-old and an 11-month-old, alone in the residence, police said. The children were unharmed.
During the investigation, police said they learned that Danielle Son’s boyfriend and estranged husband were also missing.
After the warrant for Hand Son was obtained, police located his vehicle around 4 a.m. on Thursday, traveling near the intersection of 10th Street and 12th Avenue, O'Shea said.
Detectives began following the vehicle at low speeds and were able to establish phone contact with the driver, who they determined to be Hand Son, according to police.
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They tried to persuade Hand Son to surrender, O'Shea said, but he refused and detectives attempted to perform a traffic stop in the 2500 block of 11th Street.
Hand Son did not stop the car, according to police, striking an unmarked police vehicle before driving onto the shoulder of the west side of the street and over a mound of snow, overturning his car to land on its roof.
Officers approaching Hand Son's car heard a single gunshot, authorities said, and found him inside with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Hand Son was taken to an area hospital where he later died, according to O'Shea, and a handgun was recovered from inside his car.
Shortly after the crash, detectives discovered the bodies of Danielle Son and Sergio Quiroz at Blackhawk Park, located at 101 15th Ave., Thursday morning, O'Shea said. Their causes of death were pending the outcome of autopsies from the Winnebago County Coroner's office, authorities said.
Further details were not immediately available, officials said, and the investigation remained ongoing.
"We talk a lot about domestic violence in the city; this is a domestic, obviously, related case, and it's something we continue to struggle with and something we continue to work on," O'Shea said to close Thursday's news conference. "Going forward, our detectives continue to work with the city on domestic violence initiatives and hopefully we get further along."
