Three women were shot dead and a man critically wounded Thursday night in rural Illinois by a man who later killed himself when police initiated a traffic stop on his vehicle.
Cass County Sheriff Devron Ohrn said police were called to a home in rural Ashland at about 8:30 p.m. and found a man badly injured and woman, identified as 19-year-old Autumn Bell, dead. Based on information from the wounded man, deputies went to a second location, where they found Alaria Bell, 16, and Christina Bell, 53, dead.
Ohrn said the three were all members of the same family. The male victim was not public identified, and his condition was unknown on Friday.
Investigators identified Ronald L.Cobren, 62, as the suspect and set out to look for him. His vehicle was located about a half an hour later in Jacksonville, a town in neighboring Morgan County. Police there conducted a traffic stop, but when they approached the vehicle, they found Cobren dead inside from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“Heinous acts of this magnitude rock the core of any community,” Ohrn said. “This strikes especially hard in small communities such as Cass County and beyond its borders. … I ask you to respect the family at this time. Offer them privacy, compassion, sympathy and prayer as they face the unimaginable.”
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Autumn Bell, Alaria Bell, and Christina Bell/GoFundMe]
