Brothers who say they buried mom, sister in yard released from custody: Lyons police

Two brothers who admitted they buried their mom and sister in the backyard of their southwest suburban Lyons home, and showed police where to find the bodies, were released from custody Monday.

Despite the release, the brothers “continue to be the subject of the death investigation,” according to a statement Lyons Police Chief Tom Herion released Monday evening.

The brothers, ages 41 and 45, face potential felony charges for illegally burying the two bodies but were released following a 48-hour custody hold in cooperation with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

No charges have been filed in the case.

Lyons police are “looking at every aspect of the brothers and the deceased, including examining financial records,” he said.

“We continue to look into this case with the help of the Cook County Medical Examiner who is doing a forensic evaluation of the remains that were removed from the backyard on Saturday,” Herion said.

The brothers were handcuffed and taken into custody Saturday afternoon.

Determining a cause of death will be key.

The brothers told police their sister pushed their mother, who was in her late 70s, down the stairs of the home in 2015, causing “some type of head contusion” that caused her death. They also told police their sister died from COVID-19 in 2019.

No records exist of their deaths.

The brothers are being assisted by a social service agency as the probe continues.

Investigators were still collecting any possible evidence from their tri-level home in the 3900 block of Center Avenue.

The home came to the attention of authorities when public works officials noticed water had not been used at the home for more than a year.

Police conducting a well-being check Thursday morning found the home stacked with clutter to the point where the two brothers living there were using windows to come and go, police said.

“I never saw such deplorable living conditions in my life, and I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Herion said at a news conference last week. Human feces and large containers filled with urine littered the home, he said.