2women, 3 children dead in pair of tragedies
Two suburban women took their own lives in the past week in separate incidents that also claimed the lives of three children and nearly a fourth.
A woman and her twin daughters were found dead Monday afternoon in what Joliet police are calling an apparent murder- suicide.
Officers arrived at the home in the 400 block of North Reed Street at 3: 08 p. m. and were met by the children’s father, who directed them to the bodies, authorities said.
Celisa Henning, 41, and her twin 6- year- olds, Makayla and Addison Henning, were dead at the scene. Autopsies showed Celisa Henning died of a gunshot wound to the head, while the girls each suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Will County coroner’s office.
In a separate incident in north suburban Grayslake, a 64- year- old woman jumped to her death after being questioned about a shooting and fire that claimed the life of her 17- year- old grandson.
Firefighters responded at 12: 34 a. m. Aug. 22 to the home in the 300 block of Normandy Lane, according to Grayslake police. Officers rescued Zackary Bollam from the blaze but discovered he’d been shot in the head. A .38- caliber pistol was also found.
Bollam was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he died Saturday. Autopsy results are pending.
His grandmother, 64- yearold Deborah St. Antoine-Browne, was interviewed by detectives Thursday at the hospital, and her fingerprints and a DNA sample were taken, police said.
That afternoon, she committed suicide by jumping to her death from the hospital parking garage, authorities said.
DCFS later notified police that St. Antoine- Browne had given her 16- year- old granddaughter a bottle of prescription medication and told her to take it all. The girl ingested some of it before seeking medical attention.
St. Antoine-Browne was legal guardian of her grandchildren.
“With many interviews to be conducted and a large amount of evidence to process, this case remains open,” a Grayslake police statement said, adding, “No additional suspects are being sought.”
In 2011, a then- 12- year- old Zach was featured in the Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center Annual Report, dealing with his fight against PTSD and anger issues.
The article said: “Zach and his 11- year- old sister call St. Antoine ‘ Mom’ because she has spent so many years raising them.”
A health department spokesman said, “We are very saddened to hear the news of this tragedy, and our thoughts are with Zach Bollam’s entire family.”