Alaria Bell, Christina Bell, and Autumn Bell (GoFundMe screenshot)
A 62-year-old man in Illinois allegedly killed his fiancée and her two daughters, one of whom was pregnant, fatally shooting all three victims before turning the gun on himself in a tragic triple murder-suicide that has left a small rural town devastated.
Ronald L. Cobren is suspected of killing 53-year-old Christina Bell and her two daughters, 19-year-old Autumn Bell and 16-year-old Alaria Bell, authorities announced.
Cobren is also suspected of shooting and critically injuring an adult male whose name has not been released.
According to a news release, deputies from the Cass County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 14 joined emergency medical personnel as well as officers with the Ashland and Beardstown Police Departments, who responded to an address located in the 300 block of Philadelphia Road in rural Ashland regarding a man who called 911 and said he had been shot. Assistance from the Illinois State Police and the Pleasant Plains Police Department was also requested at the residence, which is just over 200 miles southwest of Chicago.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located the male victim who appeared to be suffering from a gunshot wound to his torso. He was immediately transported to a local hospital for treatment with what the sheriff’s office described as “life-threatening injuries.” A female victim suffering from at least one gunshot wound was also found inside of the residence. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The male victim was able to provide authorities with information that led several of the agencies involved to respond to another residence located in the 700 block of Lockard Street in Ashland. When authorities entered the home they found two additional female victims, both of whom were also pronounced dead at the scene.
“A preliminary investigation identified a suspect and suspect vehicle. A short time later Jacksonville Police Department located the suspect vehicle near North Main and Oak Street in Jacksonville and conducted a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle,” the release states. “The suspect was located inside the vehicle with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The male suspect was pronounced deceased on-scene by the Morgan County Coroner’s Office.”
It was not immediately clear which of the victims were pregnant.
Cass County Sheriff Devron Ohrn provided additional information regarding the tragic shooting, confirming that the suspect believed to have taken his own life was Cobren.
According to Ohrn, the female victim who was killed at the Philadelphia Road address where the male victim was critically wounded was 19-year-old Autumn Bell. Christina Bell and her younger daughter Alaria were both found dead at the Lockard Street address. All three victims are scheduled to undergo autopsies on Monday.
“Heinous acts of this magnitude rock the core of any community. This strikes especially hard in small communities such as Cass County and beyond its borders,” Ohrn said. “I ask you to respect the family at this time. Offer them privacy, compassion, sympathy and prayer as they face the unimaginable.”
Authorities have not released a possible motive as to why they believe Cobren killed the three victims but emphasized that the investigation into the mass shooting remains ongoing.
In an interview with Chicago ABC affiliate WLS-TV, Ohrn told the station that, like much of the town, knew all of the victims and alleged shooter personally.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for the victims’ memorials.
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