The coroner has released the identities of an elderly couple who was found fatally shot inside a home in Vernon Hills in an apparent murder-suicide.
The Vernon Hills Police Department and Countryside Fire Protection District responded around 9:20 a.m. Wednesday to the 400 block of Cherry Valley Road in Vernon Hills.
Vernon Hills Deputy Police Chief Shannon Holubetz said officers received a call for two people possibly deceased inside a single-family residence.
Officers located two victims within the home. Both had apparent gunshot wounds, Holubetz said.
The two, a 67-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Holubetz said both subjects were married and resided at the home.
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek identified the two on Thursday as Victoria Ceja, 67, of Vernon Hills, and Ramiro Ceja, 77, of Vernon Hills.
A weapon was recovered at the scene and an initial examination of the home showed no signs of forced entry.
“These and other preliminary indications suggest this is a tragic incident of murder-suicide,” Holubetz said. There is not believed to be any threat to the public.
Neighbors told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that investigators marked off the home with crime scene tape and blocked the roadway for several hours.
The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force sent evidence technicians to assist the Vernon Hills Police Department in the investigation.
Autopsies performed Thursday on Cejas indicate that Victoria Ceja died from multiple gunshot wounds while Ramiro Ceja only died from a single gunshot wound.