CHICAGO-
A family friend who found three slain relatives in a South Side home said she climbed through a window of the locked apartment and discovered the bodies and one survivor scattered throughout the residence.
Linda Kelly entered the apartment Saturday with one victim’s daughter after being unable to reach anyone inside.
“They were all just laid out,” Kelly said Sunday.
In all, four people–making up three generations of the family–were discovered in the apartment. Three victims were killed by stabbing or beating and the fourth, a teenage girl, was found alive but badly hurt near the front door, officials said.
Veronica Giles, who police say is 14 or 15, was in critical condition.
“She was mumbling, but you couldn’t make out what she said,” Kelly said.
A spokeswoman for Christ Hospital in Oaklawn said Sunday that family members have requested no further information be released about the girl’s condition.
Elnora White, 80, and her children Curtis White, 56, and Elnoria Countee, 52, were dead when police arrived, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. All the victims had “blunt trauma wounds,” said police spokeswoman Monique Bond.
Giles is Countee’s daughter.
Autopsies conducted Sunday showed that Curtis White died after stab wounds to the face, that Elnora White died of “multiple blunt trauma,” and that Countee died of a stab wound to the chest, according to the medical examiner’s office.
Kelly said she spoke with Elnora White on the telephone Saturday morning. Police Superintendent Phil Cline said that was the last known communication with anyone in the home.
Six hours later, Kelly and one of Elnora White’s other daughters entered the home and discovered the bloody scene.
Elnora White was found on the floor in the dining room, Kelly said. Curtis White, who was physically disabled, was beaten to death in a bed, while Countee was discovered on the floor of her bedroom.
Tony Jackson said he has lived next door to the family for about 10 years but didn’t know them well.
“We’re all shaken up here, this happening so close to home,” Jackson said.
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