Though his face is partially obscured and half his body is hidden, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department released a grainy picture of a man believed to be Jeffrey Austwick as he’s taken into custody Saturday for allegedly gunning down his two brothers in Highland Park.
On their Facebook page, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said, “QUICK ACTION, QUICK ARREST: Yesterday, our Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC) received word from the National Park Service that an Illinois double homicide suspect may be near the Arch grounds. RTCC detectives started to review cameras in the area (like the image below) and alerted District 4 officers that the suspect was in the bushes on Walnut near 7th Street. The 54-year-old man, also armed with a gun, was taken into custody. #SaferSTL”
The Facebook post adds, “This image is being released because there is no investigation being conducted by our agency.”
The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force identified Jeffrey Austwick, 54, of the 1700 block of Park Avenue West in Highland Park, as the person who shot John Austwick, 60, of Mundelein, and Marc Austwick, 63, of Lake Forest, in Highland Park.
Jeffrey Austwick was taken into custody at about 5:30 a.m. Friday at a park in St. Louis, Missouri, authorities said.
Task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said the preliminary investigation shows brothers Marc and John Austwick went to the house to discuss the property with their brother, Jeffrey Austwick.
Covelli said the home was owned by the mother of the three brothers, but that she had recently passed away.
After the two brothers arrived at the home, Jeffrey Austwick allegedly shot his brothers, then set the house on fire, Covelli said.
Investigators obtained a nationwide arrest warrant for Jeffrey Austwick Wednesday on two counts of murder.
Jeffrey Austwick was taken into custody Friday morning in St. Louis and remains in Missouri pending an initial court hearing, Covelli said.
The Highland Park Police Department and Highland Park Fire Department responded to the home at around 3:50 a.m. June 5 after a neighbor reported the house was on fire.
Firefighters arrived to find the house was heavily involved in flames.
While evaluating the fire, firefighters found Marc and Jeffrey Austwick dead in the grass outside of the house.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office confirmed later on Wednesday that both men died from multiple gunshot wounds, not from the fire itself.
Firefighters eventually extinguished the fire with the help of other fire departments.
A crime scene was immediately established and numerous police and fire investigators, including personnel from the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, the Illinois State Fire Marshal, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the U.S. Marshals Service.
Authorities said the murder of the brothers in Highland Park appeared to be isolated and there was no threat to the community.
Park Avenue West between Ridge Road and Sunnyside Avenue was shut down Wednesday and Thursday due to the investigation.