Five People Murdered In Downstate Illinois Home; Suspect Dead After Police Chase

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Apr 24, 2013 8:20PM

Five people were found shot to death in a home in the small 350-person community of Manchester, Ill., in the southern part of the state. According to the State Journal-Register, a 6-year-old girl in the home dialed 911 around 4:30 a.m., and authorities responded to the federal housing complex.

Police found the suspect around 7:15 a.m., and after a chase, shots were exchanged. The suspect was shot and apprehended, but he died later at a hospital.

Police have not named the victims, but family members identified them to the Tribune as: Joanne Sinclair, 65; her granddaughter Brittany Luark, 22; her boyfriend Roy Ralston, 29; Nolan Ralston, 5; and Brantley Ralston, 1. Another child, Kassidy Ralston, 6, was hospitalized in critical condition.

Police have not named the suspected gunman, but neighbors identified him to the Tribune as Rick Smith, 43, of Roodhouse, Ill. "The guy broke into the house," Sinclair's son-in-law told the Tribune. "I couldn't tell you about the guy, never met him, never seen him, never talked to him. He apparently broke into the home of my wife's mother and shot everybody inside."

According to the Sun-Times, Smith is the nephew of Manchester Mayor Ron Drake, who said he did not know Smith's relationship to the family, adding, “I haven’t talked to Rick in two years.”