A family grieving the death of a Peoria man shot last November is seeking more records detailing the incident. 29-year-old Desmun Underwood was killed in what police concluded was an attempted robbery where the shooter acted in self defense.
But mother Clara Underwood-Forman believes her son was murdered. She says reports from the Peoria County Coroner’s office about the location and number of bullet wounds don’t match photos taken of the body before the funeral.
“If you’re shooting somebody in self-defense, and you continuously shoot them, it’s not self defense. If that person is leaving you, fleeing from you, It is not self-defense,” Underwood-Forman said.
She’s asking to see police, ballistics and forensics reports taken the night her son was killed. Underwood-Forman says her son and the shooter, Antonio Judon were friends. Judon was arrested on charges of possessing a stolen firearm. But Desmund Underwood mother says she thinks she has a right to know what happened to her son.
Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll says the number and location of gunshots isn’t typically reported when criminal investigations are pending.
Peoria County State’s Attorney Jerry Brady says statements taken from the shooter and a witness of the event both support the police reports that Desmun Underwood broke into a home, where drugs were recovered at the scene. Brady also says a mask and handkerchief were found on Desmun’s body when he was found in an alley.
Underwood-Forman says she’s also contacted Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and activist Jesse Jackson. She plans to hold a rally next month, after election day.