The Peoria County Sheriff’s Office says a suspect has been arrested, six hours after a woman and a child were killed Friday morning in an incident at the Royal Oaks Estates mobile home community.
According to a social media post, deputies responded to the 3500 block of Yorkshire, just west of Peoria city limits, shortly after 6 a.m. for a report of a vehicle fire.
After the fire was extinguished, first responders found the child deceased inside the car. Deputies searched a nearby residence and found a woman who had suffered a gunshot wound, and two other children who were unharmed.
The woman, identified Saturday as 20-year-old Heaven J. Wood, was transported to a local hospital and was later pronounced deceased.
The child was identified as Wood's 2-year-old son, KJ Duncan-Wood. Autopsy results showed Duncan-Wood died from smoke inhalation due to the car fire, the Peoria County Coroner said in a Saturday afternoon social media post.
The sheriff’s office says Peoria Police Department officers arrested a 24-year-old male suspect identified as Jeremiah Duncan shortly after noon at the Lexington Hills Apartments, just north of Royal Oaks.
Sheriff Chris Watkins said in a follow-up post on social media that the deaths were related to domestic violence, and thanked officials who "faced an extremely difficult situation, worked multiple crime scenes and ultimately took the suspect into custody who was armed with a knife when police found him."
Investigators are also working to determine whether the vehicle fire was intentionally set. Watkins said Duncan sustained serious burns during the incident and is in custody receiving treatment at an undisclosed medical facility.
"Days like today are a sobering reminder of the devastating impact domestic violence can have on families and our entire community," he said.
The sheriff’s office says the investigation is active and ongoing.
