Some neighbors on the relatively quiet, tree-lined street in Skokie where two bodies were found at a home Monday morning say they are shocked to hear about the deaths, as authorities continued to investigate.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office identified one dead as Catherine Stone, 62, and ruled her death a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the head.
Ryan Stone, 34, died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, according to Becky Schlikerman, a spokeswoman from the medical examiner’s office.
Both Stones lived in the 7600 block of Lowell Avenue in Skokie, officials said.
Their one-story red brick house had crime tape wrapped around it early Tuesday as several investigators worked inside and outside the home. The blinds were closed and plants remained visible in the window.
Richard Lindroth, a neighbor who lives two doors to the north of the house, said Catherine Stone lived in the home with Ryan, who was her adult son, for 10 or 11 years.
“I’m very shocked because they were very nice people,” he said about the deaths before the medical examiner’s ruling. “They kept to themselves, they were quiet and I never heard any disturbances ever.”
Police were called to the home just after 11 a.m. Monday after someone called in “a suspicious incident involving an unresponsive person,” according to a Skokie police news release.
Police said they found a dead man or boy in a vehicle parked in the home’s detached garage and a woman or girl who also was dead.
Skokie police and the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force continue to investigate, officials said.
Lindroth said the mother and son knew everyone but didn’t have close friends on the block. He often saw the mother at a convenience store close to the neighborhood, he said.
“We always talked,” he said. “They’d be out working the yard. I’d walk over. They were very friendly. I can’t imagine what happened.”
Lindroth said the whole neighborhood is in shock.
“I’ve lived here my whole life. My parents built this house,” he said about his own home. “This doesn’t belong in Skokie.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Skokie police at 847-982-5900, call the 24-hour Skokie Crime Tip Hotline at 847-933-TIPS (8477) or send a Text-A-Tip by texting “Skokie” and information to 847411.