14-year-old arrested for murder after man found dead in Decatur

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — A 14-year-old boy is being charged with first-degree murder after a man was found dead in Decatur just after midnight.

Decatur Police were called to the 1300 block of N. Monroe St. for a reported battery.

When officers got there, they found a 63-year-old man dead with suspected bruising to his face and a gunshot wound to his lower body.

1357 North Monroe SWAT incident 7-8-24 — Police on scene for a shooting in the 1300 block of N. Monroe St. of Decatur on July 8, 2024.

Detectives searched the area with the Decatur Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and processed the crime scene. They found a shell casing near the victim.

The Decatur Police Department executed a search warrant at a home in the 1400 block of N. Monroe Street. Following that investigation, a 14-year-old boy was arrested for first-degree murder and is being detained at the Peoria County Juvenile Detective Center.

The teen is on aftercare (parole) through the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice.

Due to the Illinois Juvenile Court Act of 1987, the Decatur Police Department cannot release the name of the 14-year-old. Police have not yet said whether he had any connection to the teen suspect.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Decatur Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division at (217) 424-2734 or Crimestoppers at (217) 423-8477.

WAND News is continuing to follow this story closely and learn additional information.