Triple Murder Unsolved 8 Years Later: Joliet Police Reveal Update On Their Case

JOLIET, IL ? This week marks eight years since an overnight assassin entered Anthony McGee's family home in the 2000 block of Great Falls Drive and ended three lives: Anthony M. McGee, 22, who grew up in the house, Gabriella M. Rueda, 22, of West Chicago, and Emmanuel Hernandez-Arroyo, 22, of Plainfield. All three victims died from multiple gunshots.

Because the killings happened in the middle of the night, nobody in the Cumberland Subdivision heard gunfire. The slayings were not discovered until the following afternoon, giving the killer several hours to escape and hide evidence, including the murder weapon.

"I'm waiting for an arrest," one of the neighbors, Tracy Gould, told Joliet Patch's editor eight years ago. "Waiting for an arrest, darn right," agreed another neighbor, Brenda Guethle. "The news is gangs and drugs. That's just the sidewalk talk," Guethle added.

Back at the Joliet Police Department, the upper command staff has undergone substantial turnover since the killings were discovered on Sept. 7, 2017. Brian Benton was Joliet's chief, and Al Roechner was deputy chief of criminal investigations.

"There appears to have been a party at the residence sometime overnight ... and we weren't called here until this afternoon about 3 o'clock," Benton told reporters the day after the homicides.

The chief told reporters it was his understanding that the neighbors were aware of the party at the home on Great Falls Drive, but there were no calls to the police department about the party being unruly or getting out of hand.

"Time Does Not Lessen Our Commitment Or Our Compassion"

In preparation for this story, Joliet Patch contacted Joliet police for an update on the investigation.

"First and foremost, our hearts remain with the families and friends who lost loved ones, and with the neighbors who were affected by this tragic and senseless act of violence. While many years have passed, time does not lessen our commitment or our compassion," Carlos Matlock, Joliet's deputy police chief of criminal investigations, told Joliet Patch.

In recent days, Joliet police told Patch that the Great Falls Drive triple homicide is not classified as a cold case.

"As detectives are still actively receiving information in this case, it is not being considered as a cold case," said Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English.

"This Remains A Priority For The Joliet Police Department:" Matlock

As Joliet Patch reported in 2017, the neighborhood consists of nice single-family homes along Great Falls Drive. The site of the homicides, which is in Joliet but has a Plainfield mailing address, is near County Line Road between Caton Farm Road and Theodore Street. Many of these homes in the Cumberland subdivision were built around 2001, neighbors said.

In 2018, Joliet Patch reported that the Joliet Police Department had determined there was a small party at Anthony McGee's home, and investigators did not believe the killings were random. McGee, the likely target, was an ex-convict who got out of prison a few months earlier.

"This investigation is active and remains an open case. Detectives have been working leads and conducting follow-up as recently as July of this year," Matlock told Joliet Patch last week. "Over the years, our investigators have re-examined evidence, pursued new approaches, and have re-evaluated this case as a whole and there are no plans to cease an aggressive investigation of this case.

"While we cannot share specific investigative details without jeopardizing the integrity of the case, I want our community to know that this remains a priority for the Joliet Police Department."

"This Makes The Investigation Harder To Solve:" Joliet Police

Gang retaliation or drugs, or a combination, are believed to be factors in the killings, Patch has previously reported. In 2013 when McGee was 18 years old, he was charged with armed robbery. He was accused of putting a knife to a 16-year-old boy's throat during a crime on Wesmere Parkway near Caton Farm Road. McGee was also in jail for several months in 2015 and 2016 after being arrested by the Joliet Police Department on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of marijuana.

McGee was released from the Illinois Department of Corrections just months before the triple murder.

"My detectives remain optimistic that this case will be solved and that the person or persons responsible will be held accountable," Matlock told Joliet Patch last week. "This optimism is grounded in their diligent work and in the knowledge that even one new piece of information can make the difference.

"We are encouraging anyone with any information, no matter how small it may seem, to contact the Joliet Police Department Investigations Division at 815-724-3020. Those who wish to remain anonymous may share tips through Crime Stoppers of Will County. Your cooperation can help bring long-overdue answers and justice to the victims? families and to our community."

During a September 2019 interview, now-retired Joliet Police Deputy Chief of Investigations Darrell Gavin said that, "detectives did a great job in identifying the suspect early in the investigation. The problem with this particular case is there is not enough at this point in the investigation to establish the legal burden of probable cause for his arrest on that case just yet.

"Cooperation can be the reason a case is solved quickly or why it takes time to arrest the ones responsible. At the beginning of this case, we received some cooperation from people who were at the party or aware of information. We do know, however, that some of that initial information we received wasn?t a complete depiction of what occurred that night. This makes the investigation harder to solve when people are not willing to cooperate fully with our detectives."

During that same 2019 interview, Gavin expressed optimism an arrest would be made in the near future.

"There is reason for optimism," Gavin remarked six years ago. "I think it is premature to believe there isn?t. Time is typically on our side. Friendships deteriorate, relationships sour, and people who know information sometimes give information they have to help themselves out of a legal problem. Our suspect is also currently incarcerated for other crimes from one of our other cases that our detectives were able to tie him to.

"As stated previously, we know he isn?t 'at large.' We know where the suspect is, as he is incarcerated on another case our detectives were able to tie him to."

On Tuesday, Joliet Patch circled back to Sgt. English to find out whether the Joliet police's 2019 suspect in the Great Falls Drive triple homicide remains locked away from society.

"The suspect mentioned in 2019 by then Deputy Chief Darrell Gavin is currently still incarcerated. Our detectives continue to investigate the case and are working to determine the full level involvement of this person or any others in this case," English noted.

Related: Joliet Patch Coverage Over The Years

Coroner IDs 3 Victims Of Cumberland Subdivision Triple Homicide

Great Falls Triple Murder: 'There Is Reason For Optimism'

Triple Murder On Great Falls Drive Unsolved 3 Years Later

3 Murdered In Joliet Home: Police Chief