Two bodies found at Eureka fire scene

Photos

Eureka Police Officer Kim Jones, Sgt. C.W. Lenover and Woodford County Coroner Tim Ruestman, left to right, talk outside 912 Lake Road, where the bodies of residents Troy Burwell and Cheyenne Burwell were found earlier Wednesday. The man and his niece had been fatally shot.

  

Yellow Pages

By Nick Vlahos and Matt Buedel
Posted Oct 06, 2011 @ 05:30 AM
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The bodies of a teenage girl and her uncle, both of whom had been fatally shot, were found following a house fire early Wednesday.

Authorities released few details about the deaths of Troy Burwell, 39, and Cheyenne Burwell, 13, at 912 Lake Road.

Woodford County Coroner Tim Ruestman said interviews needed to be conducted and tests needed to be administered before additional information is made public. That likely will be sometime Thursday morning, he said.

"Obviously with social media, things like Facebook, we'd like to prevent these rumors before they get too far," Ruestman said.

Ruestman and two Eureka Police Department officers conferred in front of the brown-brick, ranch-style home Wednesday afternoon as passersby slowed their vehicles and gawked. About 15 hours earlier, at 1:20 a.m., Ruestman had been at the front of the residence, where he declared both Burwells dead.

According to a Ruestman-issued news release, firefighters from Eureka arrived at the house after a fire was reported. They found both Burwells, the occupants of the house. An autopsy performed Wednesday in Bloomington revealed the cause of death.

The house had no visible signs of fire from the outside after authorities had cleared the scene.

A neighbor who declined to be identified said about a dozen vehicles representing various law enforcement agencies were parked in front of the house for most of Wednesday morning. But by about 2 p.m., the only person there was Zachary Burwell.

The 19-year-old from Congerville came to the home in an attempt to figure out what happened to his sister and his uncle. Little information was made available to him, he said.

"I went to work at 6:30 (a.m.) and my grandpa called at 6:45 and said there was a fire here," Zachary Burwell said. "I heard from the cops that two people passed away. That's why I came up here, to find out what's going on."

Zachary Burwell said his sister hadn't been getting along with their father, which is why she had been living with Troy Burwell.

"I'm just in shock," Zachary Burwell said after he emptied the mailbox at his uncle's home. "I don't know what to think or say. They say it's a fire, but I think there's more to it.

"It sucks."

Illinois State Police, the Eureka Police Department, the Eureka Fire Department, the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and Ruestman's office are investigating.

 

The bodies of a teenage girl and her uncle, both of whom had been fatally shot, were found following a house fire early Wednesday.

Authorities released few details about the deaths of Troy Burwell, 39, and Cheyenne Burwell, 13, at 912 Lake Road.

Woodford County Coroner Tim Ruestman said interviews needed to be conducted and tests needed to be administered before additional information is made public. That likely will be sometime Thursday morning, he said.

"Obviously with social media, things like Facebook, we'd like to prevent these rumors before they get too far," Ruestman said.

Ruestman and two Eureka Police Department officers conferred in front of the brown-brick, ranch-style home Wednesday afternoon as passersby slowed their vehicles and gawked. About 15 hours earlier, at 1:20 a.m., Ruestman had been at the front of the residence, where he declared both Burwells dead.

According to a Ruestman-issued news release, firefighters from Eureka arrived at the house after a fire was reported. They found both Burwells, the occupants of the house. An autopsy performed Wednesday in Bloomington revealed the cause of death.

The house had no visible signs of fire from the outside after authorities had cleared the scene.

A neighbor who declined to be identified said about a dozen vehicles representing various law enforcement agencies were parked in front of the house for most of Wednesday morning. But by about 2 p.m., the only person there was Zachary Burwell.

The 19-year-old from Congerville came to the home in an attempt to figure out what happened to his sister and his uncle. Little information was made available to him, he said.

"I went to work at 6:30 (a.m.) and my grandpa called at 6:45 and said there was a fire here," Zachary Burwell said. "I heard from the cops that two people passed away. That's why I came up here, to find out what's going on."

Zachary Burwell said his sister hadn't been getting along with their father, which is why she had been living with Troy Burwell.

"I'm just in shock," Zachary Burwell said after he emptied the mailbox at his uncle's home. "I don't know what to think or say. They say it's a fire, but I think there's more to it.

"It sucks."

Illinois State Police, the Eureka Police Department, the Eureka Fire Department, the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal and Ruestman's office are investigating.

 

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