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Bradley couple’s bodies have been found, son and another man charged for both murders

Susan Brill de Ramirez and Antonio Ramirez Barron

Peoria County coroner Jamie Harwood said the bodies of two Bradley University employees have been recovered from the Spoon River Tuesday night.

Harwood said on Wednesday afternoon, after completing autopsies, the couple both suffered significant blunt force trauma, injuries to their head and upper bodies and significant sharp object wounds and stab wounds. Harwood said at this time he is unable to determine the precise cause of death.

Susan Brill de Ramirez and Antonio Ramirez Barron were presumed dead after their son, Jose Ramirez, 21, confessed to killing both of them. Their bodies were found 100 yards apart on the river bank near the Illinois Route 78 bridge, according to the Peoria Journal Star.

Jose Ramirez has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Ramirez was appointed a public defender and his bond was set at $3 million. If convicted guilty for both slayings, he could face up to life in prison.

In his bond hearing Tuesday afternoon, prosecutor Dave Kenny explained that Ramirez waited for his parents to fall asleep before he attacked.

Jose Ramirez, 21, son of Susan Brill de Ramirez and Antonio Ramirez Barron, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Ramirez sprayed both of his parents with pepper spray as a distraction before stabbing his father in the stomach and neck. He then stabbed his mother in the stomach and neck, Kenny said.

He wrapped one of the bodies in a tarp and the other in a tent before loading them into his father’s Honda CRV. It is believed he dumped his parents’ bodies off a bridge.

According to Kenny, Ramirez tried to clean up the scene by throwing the bed sheets into a dumpster. The sheets most likely cannot be recovered because they have been taken to the landfill.

A key to the Honda CRV and a TV that was reported missing from his parents’ house were recovered from a house Jose Ramirez “frequented,” Kenny said.

Ramirez told detectives he killed them because he was “tired of dealing with his parents.”  Witnesses state that he spoke about killing his parents multiple times, Kenny said.

Matthew Roberts, 20, of Princeville, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Wednesday afternoon.

Officers were called to the scene on Sunday night by Jose Ramirez after he reported that his parents’ residence had been burglarized, according to the prosecutor.

The other suspect arrested, Matthew Roberts, 20, of Princeville, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Wednesday afternoon. Peoria County Sheriff Brian Asbell said it is now believed Roberts was an active participant in the homicides.

Roberts bond hearing took place on Wednesday and his bond was also set at $3 million.

Both Roberts and Ramirez are scheduled to appear in court next on Nov. 29.

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————– Previous version of the story ————–

Peoria County coroner Jamie Harwood said the bodies of two Bradley University employees have been recovered from the Spoon River Tuesday night, as reported by the Peoria Journal Star.

Susan Brill de Ramirez and Antonio Ramirez Barron, both 63, of Princeville, were presumed dead after their son, Jose Ramirez, 21, confessed to killing both of them. Their bodies were found 100 yards apart on the river bank near the Illinois Route 78 bridge, according to the Journal Star.

Jose Ramirez has now been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Ramirez was appointed a public defender and his bond was set at $3 million. If convicted guilty for both slayings, he could face up to life in prison.

In his bond hearing Tuesday afternoon, prosecutor Dave Kenny explained that Ramirez waited for his parents to fall asleep before he attacked.

Ramirez sprayed both of his parents with pepper spray as a distraction before stabbing his father in the stomach and neck. He then stabbed his mother in the stomach and neck, Kenny said.

He wrapped one of the bodies in a tarp and the other in a tent before loading them into his father’s Honda CRV. It is believed he dumped his parents’ bodies off a bridge.

According to Kenny, Ramirez tried to clean up the scene by throwing the bed sheets into a dumpster. The sheets most likely cannot be recovered because they have been taken to the landfill.

A key to the Honda CRV and a TV that was reported missing from his parents’ house were recovered from a house Jose Ramirez “frequented,” Kenny said.

Ramirez told detectives he killed them because he was “tired of dealing with his parents.”  Witnesses state that he spoke about killing his parents multiple times, Kenny said.

Officers were called to the scene on Sunday night by Jose Ramirez after he reported that his parents’ residence had been burglarized, according to the prosecutor.

The other suspect arrested, Matthew Roberts, 20, of Princeville, has not yet been formally charged for obstruction of justice and concealment of a homicidal death.

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