PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria man accused of killing his two-year-old son and the child’s mother will remain in custody until trial, as prosecutors reveal new details about the September double homicide.
The Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office says a judge ordered 24-year-old Jeremiah J. Duncan to remain detained following a hearing Monday.
Duncan faces two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of 20-year-old Heaven Wood and their two-year-old son, KJ Duncan-Wood.
According to prosecutors, Wood obtained an emergency order of protection against Duncan on September 15, which was served the following day.
On September 18, 19 and 20, Duncan contacted the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office to request deputies stand by during custody exchanges with Wood.
Prosecutors say Duncan did not request a standby on September 25, the morning of the killings.
That morning, around 6:09 a.m., deputies responded to a vehicle fire in the 2000 block of Yorkshire Drive.
A deputy familiar with the previous custody exchanges recognized the vehicle as being associated with a nearby residence at 3511 Yorkshire and went to the home to conduct a welfare check.
Inside, deputies found Wood suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
After firefighters extinguished the vehicle fire, first responders discovered the couple’s two-year-old son inside the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
During Monday’s hearing, prosecutors described evidence recovered during the investigation, including a revolver containing three spent rounds and a pair of burned pants.
Investigators also recovered a recording from Wood’s phone made on the day of the killings.
According to prosecutors, the recording captures a conversation between Wood and Duncan in which Wood tells him to leave or she will call police. A brief struggle can then be heard, followed by three gunshots.
Witnesses reported seeing a man partially on fire running away from the vehicle.
Deputies also recovered surveillance footage showing a fire inside the vehicle, along with a burned gas canister found on the passenger-side floor.
Duncan was arrested later that day and transported to a hospital.
He remained hospitalized until October 30, when he was discharged and transferred to the Peoria County Jail.
Following Monday’s detention hearing, Duncan will remain in custody while awaiting trial.
The investigation remains ongoing.
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