URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - A Wisconsin murder suspect who at one point was believed to be hiding in Champaign has died.
Ian Kearns, 22, of Sandwich was accused of involvement in the shooting death of 29-year-old Edwin Garcia-Smith on March 20 at his Eau Claire, Wisc., home. Authorities said Kearns and two other suspects, identified as 27-year-old Chicago men Joe Moya and Juan Olivarez, forced their way into the victim's apartment and fatally shot him.Â
Garcia-Smith was allegedly selling drugs. Police said a woman was shot in the leg on a same night and three children were in the apartment when the robbery and shootings happened.
On April 16, University of Illinois police learned Kearns could have been staying with a female friend in the Champaign-Urbana area. They said he was seen on video in a U of I campus building.
Kearns' death happened on Saturday night in a DeKalb County hospital, according to The News-Gazette. The newspaper learned from U of I police Lt. Joe McCullough someone believed to be related to Kearns dropped him off at Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital with an unknown medical issue.
An autopsy is scheduled for Monday in the same county. DeKalb County authorities are handling the investigation into the death, per McCullough.
