The brother of the two men found fatally shot outside the burning home of their recently deceased mother has been charged in their deaths, Lake County authorities said Friday.
Jeffrey Austwick, 54, of the 1700 block of Park West Avenue in Highland Park, was apprehended in a St. Louis, Missouri park early Friday, according to Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli.
A murder warrant was issued Wednesday, charging Jeffrey Austwick in the deaths of Marc Austwick, 63, of Lake Forest, and John Austwick, 60, of Mundelein, Covelli said.
Firefighters found the bodies of the brothers early Wednesday morning when they responded to a house fire at the residence where Jeffrey Austwick had lived with their mother.
Phyllis Austwick, a lifelong area resident, died May 31 at 84, according to an online obituary, and was survived by five children.
Police said Friday that Marc and John had gone to the house to discuss the disposition of the property with their brother. After they arrived, Jeffrey allegedly shot them multiple times and then set the house on fire, police said.
He then fled the area in his car, according to police. Austwick was arrested about 5:30 a.m. Friday. He remains in custody in Missouri, where he is awaiting an initial court hearing, and then extradition to Lake County.
