An Illinois man allegedly murdered his young daughter and then killed himself in a horrific set of events this week, the Daily Herald reports.
Authorities on Thursday afternoon discovered the bodies of 9-year-old Adrianna Anderson and her father, 36-year-old Christopher Anderson, inside the father’s Lake Villa, Illinois, home. Both died from what the Lake County coroner’s office described as sharp force trauma, which suggests the injuries were cuts or stabbings, according to the newspaper.
The girl had multiple wounds on her body, while the father had one fatal wound, Lt. Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Major Crime Task Force told the Daily Herald.
Police have not publicly released a motive for the slayings, but investigators are examining whether the father was mentally ill, the newspaper reports.
Adrianna Anderson was in fourth grade. Her school released a statement to the press saying she would be “remembered as a charismatic and sweet little girl whose smile warmed the hearts of all.”
The girl’s mother and father did not live together and had been separated for several years. The pair had an arrangement in which the father would usually take the girl on weekends, according to Patch.com.
On Wednesday, the mother allowed the girl to stay with her father for the night. When the girl did not show up for school the next morning, the mother tried calling the father and then asked police to check on their welfare.
Police entered the residence around 2:15 p.m. Thursday and discovered two bodies in the same room. Investigators have not found any evidence of a struggle.
Christopher Anderson had been laid off recently from his job in the roofing industry.
Lake Villa Police Chief Craig Somerville issued a press release calling the deaths “incredibly tragic.”
“This is an incredibly tragic set of circumstances, and our deepest condolences go out to the family of the child,” Somerville wrote, according to the Daily Herald. “I want to reassure the Lake Villa community that there is no evidence to suggest there is a threat to the public.”
The home is in a quiet neighborhood in Lake County, Illinois, just north of Chicago.
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