Young Man's Body Found Near St. Patrick's Catholic Church

JOLIET, IL - New Year's Eve brought extremely brutal weather conditions as temperatures plunged below zero. Over near the St. Patrick's Catholic Church in the 700 block of West Marion Street, Joliet police cars responded to a grim discovery that was called into police around 12:30 a.m. on New Year's Day. The body of a 28-year-old man was sprawled across the frozen ground across the street from the church. The man had lived in the 400 block of Western Avenue, according to Joliet Police.

However, police do not believe the Joliet resident was the victim of a homicide, Deputy Chief of Investigations Al Roechner told the Joliet Patch on Monday.

Roechner said the detectives found no gunshot wounds, bruises or other trauma to the dead man's body. Police surmise he may have died from drugs. An autopsy will be performed to determine the official cause and manner of death, Roechner said.

"It appears that there was no foul play involved," Roechner told Patch. "This was not someone who was attacked. There were no signs of any injuries. It appears to be drug-related or an overdose based on what was there."

Roechner said the Joliet Police found evidence at the scene suggesting the death was drug-related, but explained that "I'm not going to say what they recovered."

Joliet Police also believe the man's body may have been on the ground for several hours before officers were called to the scene to investigate.

For the Joliet Police Department, New Year's was an especially long night.

Several officers responded to Silver Cross Hospital after two teenagers who were sitting in the backseat of a car were fatally shot over by The Hill, a dangerous part of Joliet's east side after dark.

RELATED: 2 Joliet Teens Murdered In Car Over By The Hill

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