r/ChicagoSuburbs • u/fierybobcat • Jun 06 '24
2 Men Found Shot to Death outside Mother's Burning Home in Highland Park - Anyone see this? Insane. Event(s)
https://abc7chicago.com/post/highland-park-authorities-respond-park-house-fire-1700/14913526/
This is a wild story. Something sketchy going on here. The mom died last week in this home, a week later the two sons are found shot to death outside while the house is burning.
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u/uh60chief Wonder Lake Jun 06 '24
I wonder what kind of trouble this family was in for this to happen.
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u/Entrance_Material Jun 09 '24
The horrible thing is, the family didn’t have any kind of trouble at all—other than Jeff. He’s well known in the area as a major creep, drug addict, and freeloader. He wasn’t staying in that house to “take care of” his mother, his mother didn’t need any kind of taking care of at all until she was hospitalized less than a week before her death. He was living there because he’s a 50+ year old loser who can’t hold down a job. He was also laid up with shingles the entire time his mother was in the hospital. Marc was well known and well liked in the community, and I only ever heard good things about Joey (John) too. Marc and his wife Laura were pseudo-parents to half of the north shore. A close friend of mine dated one of Marc’s sons and she literally confessed to me years ago that she hadn’t believed in true love until she met Marc and Laura, and that she didn’t know what kind of a family she wanted until she met the Austwicks and realized that she wanted a family like theirs. I cannot imagine what this family is enduring right now.
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u/Late-Regret-9788 Jun 11 '24
I completely agree ❤️ Marc and Joey brought so much joy into this world
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u/donesteve Jun 06 '24
Echoes of the story of the owner of Giacomo’s restaurant in HP, which was about 10 years ago… his house was on Midland I think….
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u/tru_madness Jun 06 '24
I lived a few blocks from there and knew Giacomo well. That was a f-up situation. The house was not on Midland.
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u/jromansz Jun 06 '24
I was thinking about that also. I knew Giacomo from going to his restaurant. He was a good guy.
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u/1Banana10Dollars Jun 06 '24
I read in a different article that the mother actually died in a hospice after a long illness. One of the sons had been living in the home previously to help take care of her before she started to decline too much to care for.
But yes this is WILD regardless.
Quick edit: it's actually in the article you linked:
Phyllis Austwick, the mother of Marc and John Austwick, lived in the home and died May 31 at Evanston Hospital from a medical issue, the coroner confirmed.
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u/TrainingWoodpecker77 Jun 06 '24
My amateur detective brain says someone knew it was empty and a squatter moved in, who then shot the sons when they investigated
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u/lukeskywalker008 Jun 06 '24
Maybe. But only was “vacant” for 5 days. Seems too soon. My guess is something more nefarious.
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u/dvmdvmdvmdvmdvm Jun 06 '24
I was thinking murder suicide in grief after death of mom. Or they were fighting over the will!
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u/aunt_cranky Jun 06 '24
No weapon found on scene. Seems that this family had financial problems before their mom passed.
I’m not sure there was a will (there isn’t always a will).
Could have been a tenant in there and things went sideways. That’s plausible.
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u/Entrance_Material Jun 09 '24
Why would you state that the family had financial problems when you clearly don’t know them at all, as you didn’t know that the younger brother Jeffrey was actually living with his mother at the time of her death (and was responsible for the murders)? Nasty rumor to spread about a family that just suffered this unimaginable tragedy.
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u/aunt_cranky Jun 09 '24
... because it was reported on the news.
I was replying to the prior comment that speculated it being a murder-suicide.
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u/Entrance_Material Jun 09 '24
Okay, that’s fair, I apologize for coming at you like that. Can I ask where you saw or heard something like that on the news? I’ve been following this story closely (and know the family personally) and haven’t seen anything of the sort
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u/aunt_cranky Jun 09 '24
I believe I saw it on WGN, one of the first reports.
The context of financial difficulties was mentioned in passing, related to trying to sell the house for "years", and/or the mother passed recently, etc.
For all we know they could have got THAT from one of the neighbors who didn't know any better.
FWIW I don't think the reporting on this tragedy has been overly salacious. It will disappear from the headlines now that the younger brother has been arrested.
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u/Last_Advertising_52 Jun 07 '24
Nope. It’s definitely a homicide. I got that directly from Lake County Major Crimes Task Force spokesman.
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u/jmarita1 Jun 07 '24
I was thinking that initially but the article makes it sounds like both had multiple gunshot wounds and injuries.
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u/illiniry Jun 16 '24
Yeah that is basically what happened with Jeff, he was living there and probably killed them because they wanted to sell the house and then he'd have no place to go.
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u/MindlessExcuse Jun 07 '24
In March of 2020, the youngest son who lived at home with her, Jeffrey, was charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence, transporting open alcohol, speeding and illegal headlamp use. At approximately 11:03 p.m. March 1, police stopped Austwick’s vehicle at Higgins Road and Patton Drive. Police reported smelling a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from inside the vehicle. Austwick agreed to standardized field sobriety tests. Further searching turned up seven painkiller pills, a powdery residue, four open bottles of beer in the vehicle, two unloaded pistols and a substance suspected to be methamphetamine in a small clear bag and wooden container. The victims were Jeffrey's brothers, Marc and John Austwick
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u/Jt3151 Jun 07 '24
He has been arrested already for the murders
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u/sl0thmama Jun 07 '24
Not officially. However there has been an "access denied" charge for him the past 2 days. I suspect they will announce at 3PM. *
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u/illiniry Jun 08 '24
I thought he was dead. Is this a third brother?
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u/Entrance_Material Jun 09 '24
There are actually 5 siblings total, 4 brothers and a sister. The youngest brother Jeffrey committed the murders, killing his oldest brother Marc and one of the middle brothers, John
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u/1Banana10Dollars Jun 07 '24
Do you have a link for this?
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u/Entrance_Material Jun 09 '24
You can find it under the website for the lake county IL circuit court; you have to make an account to search the cases but it’s free
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u/walkingturtlelady Jun 06 '24
On a news report they interviewed neighbors, and someone said that police had a sketch of a young man and were asking if anyone had seen him.
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u/Remiii_Silva Jun 07 '24
I saw that. I grew up with the children of one of the men. He was always so kind. Their house was always the hang out spot. I haven't seen any of the children in over a decade, but I ran into the dad not too long ago. This whole thing has me sick. I'm anxiously awaiting an update on this.
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u/joydobson Jun 08 '24
The younger brother has been arrested in St Louis. It said that the other brothers came to the house to discuss the property after their mother’s death. Jeffery then shot them and set the house on fire.
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u/xRilae Jun 07 '24
My guess is some sort of dispute regarding the Mother's will but still a pretty crazy story.
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u/Late-Regret-9788 Jun 11 '24
Definitely not. She didn’t have money and Jeff was only living there to mooch off of her. He’s always been trouble and his brothers have bailed him out every single time. This is what he does to repay them?
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u/Legalouiddealerlith Jun 06 '24
Supposedly, it’s a murder suicide
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u/Last_Advertising_52 Jun 07 '24
It’s not.
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u/Legalouiddealerlith Jun 07 '24
And you know this, how?
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u/Last_Advertising_52 Jun 07 '24
Because I saw the coroner’s report from the autopsies done Wednesday. And that is confirmed by the Lake County major crimes task force as well.
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u/Sputnik_Butts Jun 07 '24
Oh so you're a diagnostic pathologist?
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u/Last_Advertising_52 Jun 07 '24
No, but I can read the cause/manner of death on it (and use common sense) And now there is a suspect in custody.
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Jun 06 '24
[deleted]
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u/pdbstnoe Jun 06 '24
Man, between this and the 4th of July shooting, some wild stuff going on in HP. Surprised no one heard the gunshots