Crime & Safety

4 Dead Near Darien in Apparent Murder-Suicide: Police

The 500 block of Oldfield Road remained closed starting Tuesday afternoon as the DuPage County Sheriff's Office investigated the deaths.

This story has been updated with the identities of the deceased.

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A man shot three people to death Tuesday afternoon at a home on the 500 block of Oldfield Road near Darien, then killed himself, the Chicago Tribune and NBC Chicago report.

According to the Daily Herald and WGN, the bodies of four members of a family were found in the brown house when police responded at 3:30 p.m. to a report of a disturbance.

DuPage County Sheriff's Office deputies and investigators remained Tuesday evening at the home, which is located in unincorporated DuPage County near Downers Grove and Darien.

Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Dawn Domrose described the deaths as an isolated incident, the Daily Herald's story said. The Sheriff's Office did not release or confirm any other information with the media on Tuesday.

The DuPage County Coroner's Office was also called to the home, ABC7 reported earlier.

Police blocked off Oldfield Road between Andrus and Robert Roads Tuesday afternoon, and it was still closed at 11 p.m. when news vans and reporters began to disperse from the scene. Residents approached the area in cars and on foot throughout the day to see what was going on.

Some police or SWAT team officers in full gear were staged during the initial afternoon call on Jennifer Mazzei's street, which is directly north of the property where the deaths occurred.

Mazzei said police sometime near 3:30 p.m. Tuesday spoke to her through the glass window by her front door. They called out to her to get into her basement and stay inside the house. Mazzei kept her young children close, frightened at what the situation might be.

"They were coming back and getting their weapons and everything, so we knew something was up," Mazzei said. "It was scary here for awhile."

Police then gave the all clear within 30 minutes after they first came to the door, Mazzei said.

Mazzei lives in the Tara Hill subdivision, which was the site of the March 2010 triple-murder of the Kramer family. The highly public trial of the man who arranged it ended last month in a conviction.

"I know they're isolated incidents, but it still makes me feel nervous," said Ellen Marquez, who lives almost directly across the street from the Kramers. "It makes you wonder about people ... it's unsettling and sad. Too many tragedies."

Hear more reaction from Marquez in this video

Check back with Patch for more stories on this incident. Patch Crime Editor Charles Menchaca contributed to this report.


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