 A coroner's inquest is not a criminal hearing. It is conducted to
determine the cause and manner of death.
On Sept. 21, Logan County sheriff's deputies, Illinois State Police
troopers, and personnel from the Logan County Paramedic Association
and Beason Rural Fire Protection EMS responded to a 911 call in
Beason. Upon arrival at the scene, they found five members of the
Raymond Gee family deceased in the residence:
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Gee, Raymond "Rick," 46
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Gee, Ruth A., 39
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Constant, Justina M., 16
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Constant, Dillen, 14
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Gee, Austin, 11
In the days that followed the deaths, spokesman and lead
investigator Logan County Sheriff Steve Nichols described the scene
as brutal and heinous. A report put out during the manhunt that
followed the murders said, "A violent struggle took place." When
autopsy results were returned, they revealed that all of the deaths
were from blunt force trauma.
ISP crime scene investigators seized and analyzed hundreds of
items. Photographs, latent prints, blood specimen and DNA supply
significant and ample forensic evidence in this case.
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In the first two weeks of October, brothers Christopher Harris, 30,
and Jason L. Harris, 22, were arrested, co-accused and charged with
of five counts of murder and one count of attempted murder of the
Gee family.
The coroner said the inquest would be kept simple, and he
expected to have only about eight questions to present to the
jurors. He said that after discussing it with other authorities, he
felt that there would be enough evidence without introducing
pictures for the jury to make its findings. He has been working with
the prosecutors, Logan County State's Attorney Michael McIntosh and
the Illinois attorney general's office, as to what evidence would be
presented. Information presented would be limited in order to avoid
any possibility of jeopardizing the criminal court cases.
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