|
Ill. State
Police explains role in Beason investigation
Send a link to a friend
[October 14, 2009]
SPRINGFIELD
-- Christopher J. Harris, 30, was arrested
by a multi-agency task force just after 4
p.m. Oct. 1 for the murders of five members
of the Gee family. Subsequently, three
additional arrests have been made in
connection with the murders. The task force
was comprised of personnel from the Logan
County Sheriff's Department, Lincoln Police
Department, Illinois State Police, Logan
County state's attorney's office, Illinois
attorney general's office and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation. |
|
"The arrests in this tragic event was a
result of the great police work performed by
the members of the task force," said
Jonathon Monken, state police director.
"This investigation highlights the resources
and expertise the Illinois State Police has
to offer during a major incident such as
this."
The Illinois State Police agency was
notified of the incident at approximately
4:30 p.m. on Sept. 21, with crime scene
investigators arriving at the Gee residence
in Beason at 5:45 p.m. Six investigators,
traveling from as far as Rockford, East
Moline and Charleston, worked more than 138
hours during the initial investigation. The
Illinois State Police also provided 17
special agents from six of the seven
investigative zones, five intelligence
analysts and four zone intelligence
officers. Personnel also traveled from
nearly every corner of the state to provide
manpower for the task force. Air Operations
also assisted by providing aerial photos of
the scene.
During the early stages of the
investigation, 133 items of evidence were
submitted to the ISP Forensic Science
Laboratory for analysis. Five forensic
scientists have been dedicated solely to
analyzing items collected from the Beason
scene and have been working to provide
results on the most probative evidence. ISP
forensic scientists received the evidence on
Sept. 29 and analyzed enough evidence in two
days to result in the arrest of Christopher
Harris. In order to aid the ongoing
investigation, results on the highest
priority exhibits continue to be
communicated to investigators as soon as
they are available.
[to
top of second column] |
The ISP continues to further develop this
surge concept for use in significant or
catastrophic incidents such as this case.
Dependent upon case criteria and
circumstances, deployment of the Major Case
Squad may be implemented anywhere throughout
Illinois. Rapid deployment of this team of
highly trained and experienced experts
provides the very best opportunity for
solving crimes and restoring safety within
our communities.
[Text from
file received from
Illinois State Police] |
