Triple Murder Probe Hasn't Interviewed All Party Guests: Chief

JOLIET, IL — Joliet Police Chief Brian Benton told Joliet Patch on Tuesday morning that progress is definitely being made, but his department's homicide investigators still have plenty of work to do to solve last week's triple murder on Great Falls Drive.

Around 3 p.m. on Thursday, Joliet police were summoned to the McGee family home in the 2000 block of Great Falls Drive, which is in Joliet but has a Plainfield mailing address. There, police found the bodies of Anthony McGee, 22, Gabriella Rueda, 22, and Emmanuel "Manny" Hernandez, also 22. The Will County Coroner's Office indicated Rueda lived in West Chicago, while Hernandez was from Plainfield. All three suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head.

Benton said that investigative leads on social media are extremely vital to the still-developing triple-homicide probe.

"We are following up on social media options and still trying to find information from people who were at the party. This is one of those cases where we need the public's help," Benton said. "Obviously, we have not been able make any arrests, but we do have a number of detectives actively assigned on this case."

How is the social media component relevant to the still-unsolved Joliet triple homicide?

"We have reason to believe that some of the activity (at the party) was recorded with cell phones and transmitted electronically," Benton said. "We believe there is digital evidence out there that we need to recover." (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Tuesday marked the sixth day since the triple murders occurred in the Cumberland subdivision near County Line Road between Caton Farm Road and Theodore Street. Benton said Joliet police have a good idea regarding the identities of many attendees at the party inside the McGee residence in the hours preceding the triple murders. However, some of them have yet to arrange for a sit- down interview with homicide detectives.

Since the outset of the investigation, Joliet's police department has emphasized that it does not believe the three victims died during a random violent crime.

At least a handful of people are still being sought for questioning at this time, the chief said.

"We have a few people, but nobody that I would be willing to list as a suspect just yet," Benton said.

So why would somebody at the party, knowing that a triple murder occurred there, choose to remain in the shadows of law enforcement almost a week later, if they had nothing to do with committing the murders?

"In many of our investigations ... it takes time, so I'm not surprised there was not immediate response," Benton said. "We are still trying to find a number of people, and we are narrowing that list down."

Benton urged people to take the initiative to contact his department's investigations division at 815-724-3020 if they have pertinent information for his agency's detectives to pursue. Perhaps some people who were at the party have spoken with others and told them details about what was going on, Benton said.

"We are definitely interested in information on who was there, even second-hand information," Joliet's police chief told Patch. "If they heard it on the street, we would ask them to call."

For other Patch coverage of the triple murders on Great Falls Drive:

• Funeral GoFundMe For Joliet Murder Victim Manny Hernandez
• Coroner IDs 3 Joliet Gunshot Victims
• 3 Murdered In Joliet Home: Police Chief

Images via Patch