Two dead after call of shots fired

By: 
Marney Simon

A call to the police on Sunday night of shots fired ended with two dead bodies and a death investigation.

The call came in around 9:15 p.m. on Sunday, April 2. The caller complained of possible shots fired at a home in the 200 block of Parkview Lane, near the center of the city.

Inside the home, police found two males, both deceased.

Those victims were identified as Joseph O. Burgess, 35, of Chicago, and James A. Benson, 25, a resident of the Parkview Lane home. The victims were identified as half-brothers. They were both shot once.
A .357 revolver was recovered at the scene, along with spent cartridges.

According to the office of Will County Coroner Patrick K. O’Neil, both victims were both pronounced dead at 10:29 p.m. The coroner’s office described the shooting as a domestic incident, with both men suffering a single gunshot wound to the head.

Braidwood Police Chief Nick Ficarello said the investigation is ongoing.

“We are looking at murder-suicide,” Ficarello said. “Obviously the coroner’s office makes the final determination in this circumstance, but the Braidwood police are investigating the murder-suicide angle on this case. Witness statements are corroborating that information.”

Autopsies were completed on April 3.  The final cause and manner of death will be determined at a later date, pending police, autopsy, and toxicology reports.

Neighbors said the occupants of the small white house on Parkview Lane are quiet and pleasant people, and that they were shocked to see about a dozen squad cars and two ambulances show up at the scene on Sunday night.

Witnesses told police, however, that Burgess and Benson had been seen arguing off and on for most of the evening. One family member and an acquaintance of the family were in the home at the time of the shooting.

The Braidwood Police Department was assisted on the scene by the Will County Sheriff’s Department and the Will County Forest Preserve Police.