Few Details Released In Deaths Of 4 Family Members

MCHENRY COUNTY, IL — It's been three weeks since four family members died following a "domestic-incident" in a Crystal Lake-area home, and authorities have released few new details into their investigation.

On Aug. 9, authorities were called to a home at 5805 Wild Plum Road and found three women, Chang Song, 73, Yuna Song, 49, and Lauren Smith-Song, 32, all dead inside. Jean Song, 44, was taken to a local hospital where he also died, according to the coroner's office.

A woman, who is the sole survivor in the attack and whose name has not been released, called police to report the attack early Wednesday. She told police there was "a single household member shooting their relatives."

The woman was taken to the hospital with serious injuries and an update on her condition was not immediately available. Authorities have referred to the man who died in the attack as the "aggressor."

On Aug. 18, Patch.com filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the McHenry County Sheriff's Office, requesting additional information into the shooting, including police reports filed following the attack. Patch.com also requested audio of the 911 call made from the home.

Last week, the sheriff's office denied release of those documents and the 911 call, stating that providing that information could impede their pending investigation.

In the denial, Michelle Schroeder, records clerk and a Freedom of information officer for the sheriff's office, wrote that "several witnesses to the event still need to be interviewed," and releasing police reports could lead those witnesses to tailor their statements to "match media's account of events."

Witnesses also could be less likely to cooperate with investigators, according to the letter.

Any release of dash cam footage or the 911 call could also "prematurely reveal" evidence, which the sheriff's office referred to as "critical pieces of evidence to the investigation."

Lastly, releasing the information falls under an "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy," since the information is "highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person in which the subject's right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in obtaining the information" Schroeder wrote in the denial response to the FOIA.

Authorities have said there was no threat to the public following the domestic incident. And the causes of deaths for all of those killed has not yet been released.

Michael Rein, McHenry County Coroner, told Patch on Friday that his office will not be releasing any autopsy results, including preliminary results, due to "this being an ongoing investigation."

The domestic incident was reported to authorities at about 4 a.m. on Aug. 9 and happened at a single-family home on a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood just east of Crystal Lake.

Holly Cote, who lives in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred, said residents living there are friendly and referred to her a neighborhood as a "tight-knit community," according to the Daily Herald.

Other neighbors said they did not hear anything overnight at the home and woke up to find TV news crews on the street.

Sage Brossard, 19, lives two doors down from the townhome where the shooting happened and said that she believed there were multiple generations living there, according to Shaw Local News Network.

Peggy Caldrone, who has lived at the corner Wild Plum and White Ash roads since 2013, said she slept with her window open last night and did not hear anything, according to the article.

The McHenry County Sheriff's Office and the Major Investigation Assistance Team is investigating the domestic incident.

MORE ON PATCH

• Coroner IDs 4 Killed In Crystal Lake Domestic Incident
• No Prior Police Calls To Home Where 4 Died Near Crystal