Three Relatives Found Dead In Evanston
EVANSTON, Ill. (STNG) ― Evanston police are investigating why a 90-year-old woman was apparently living in a home with three dead siblings—one of which is believed to have died in the early 1980s.
How and when the siblings died and their ages were still being determined Friday, said Evanston police Cmdr. Tom Guenther. The bodies were found Friday morning in a large home on the 1200 block of Judson Avenue, he said.
"We know we have three deceased people," Guenther said. "We don't know how their deaths occurred."
Anita Bernstorff, born in 1910, Frank Bernstorff, born in 1920 and Elaine Bernstorff, born in 1916 were all pronounced dead in the home Friday afternoon, a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said. Their exact ages could not be determined because it was not clear how long they were dead in the home.
Anita Bernstorff was last seen alive in May of 2008, Frank Bernstorff was last seen alive in April of 2003 and Elaine Bernstorff was last seen alive in the early 1980s, authorities said.
The Bernstorffs are believed to have died from natural causes, but autopsies are scheduled for Saturday. At least two of the bodies were skeletons and the third was very badly decomposed, according to authorities.
Guenther said police were called by a senior advocate who had an ongoing relationship with the woman.
Caroline Carlton, who lives across the street from the woman, said she last saw her neighbor passing out candy in the driveway on Halloween. Carlton said she had never been inside the house but from outside, it was well-maintained.
When Carlton moved in two years ago, she said she believed there were three people living there. She said recently she only saw the woman.
"She never ventured very far," Carlton said.
Another neighbor, who didn't want his name used, thought that perhaps the woman didn't know what to do when her siblings died.
"It could well be that she was not able to notify people or didn't quite understand," he said. "She isn't quite worldly."
Evanston police responded to the 10:15 a.m. call with investigators from the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2008. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
EVANSTON, Ill. (STNG) ― Evanston police are investigating why a 90-year-old woman was apparently living in a home with three dead siblings—one of which is believed to have died in the early 1980s.
How and when the siblings died and their ages were still being determined Friday, said Evanston police Cmdr. Tom Guenther. The bodies were found Friday morning in a large home on the 1200 block of Judson Avenue, he said.
"We know we have three deceased people," Guenther said. "We don't know how their deaths occurred."
Anita Bernstorff, born in 1910, Frank Bernstorff, born in 1920 and Elaine Bernstorff, born in 1916 were all pronounced dead in the home Friday afternoon, a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said. Their exact ages could not be determined because it was not clear how long they were dead in the home.
Anita Bernstorff was last seen alive in May of 2008, Frank Bernstorff was last seen alive in April of 2003 and Elaine Bernstorff was last seen alive in the early 1980s, authorities said.
The Bernstorffs are believed to have died from natural causes, but autopsies are scheduled for Saturday. At least two of the bodies were skeletons and the third was very badly decomposed, according to authorities.
Guenther said police were called by a senior advocate who had an ongoing relationship with the woman.
Caroline Carlton, who lives across the street from the woman, said she last saw her neighbor passing out candy in the driveway on Halloween. Carlton said she had never been inside the house but from outside, it was well-maintained.
When Carlton moved in two years ago, she said she believed there were three people living there. She said recently she only saw the woman.
"She never ventured very far," Carlton said.
Another neighbor, who didn't want his name used, thought that perhaps the woman didn't know what to do when her siblings died.
"It could well be that she was not able to notify people or didn't quite understand," he said. "She isn't quite worldly."
Evanston police responded to the 10:15 a.m. call with investigators from the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2008. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
