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Boy Witnesses Double Homicide In Crystal Lake; Man Charged

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 31-year-old man has been charged with killing a 31-year-old woman and a teen girl Thursday night at a home in northwest suburban Crystal Lake.

Police said, around 8 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to a home in the 100 block of Marian Parkway, after receiving a call of a female armed with a knife. Before they arrived, police got another call reporting a man armed with a gun also was in the house.

When police got there, officers found a 31-year-old woman and a teen girl had been shot multiple times. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

An 11-year-old neighbor who was inside the house at the time hid under a bed when he heard the gunshots. Juan Viveros had come over to the house to play video games with the two boys who live there, ages 6 and 9.

"I heard that they were fighting, and then soon I heard a scream, and then bangs," Juan said. "We didn't know what was happening, so I just hid under (the bed)."

Police have arrested the boys' father, 31-year-old Ryan Yarber. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, and was due to appear in McHenry County Court for a bond hearing on Saturday.

One of the victims is Yarber's wife, Allania.  The McHenry County coroner refused to identify the teen victim.

Ryan Yarber
Ryan Yarber (Source: McHenry County Sheriff)

Juan said the boys' aunt, the teen girl, was in the living room when their mother and father started fighting in the bedroom just before the shots rang out.

"I don't know why," Juan said.

Police told Juan it was safe to come out after they arrived at the home.

"They told us to open the door, and we did; and he told us to put our hands like this (over their ears)," Juan said. "They had to put a blanket over me so I couldn't see."

Officers escorted Juan home. He was still shaken Friday morning.

"I couldn't barely sleep yesterday," he said.

 

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