Victims, deceased suspect identified in Ashland triple murder

ASHLAND, Ill. (WAND) - Four people, including a suspect, are dead and one person was injured in a crime spree in rural Ashland. The victims and suspect have now been identified by law enforcement.

Thursday, Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies, the Ashland Police Department, Beardstown Police Department, and Beardstown EMS were called out to the 300 block of Philadelphia Road in rural Ashland for a man who had been shot in the stomach.

Illinois State Police and Pleasant Plains Police were also called in to assist.

When Cass County Sheriff’s Deputies and Ashland Police Department arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound and a deceased woman at the home. That woman was identified by the coroner as 19-year-old Autumn Bell. She lived at that address.

Deputies gave aid to the male victim until EMS arrived.

Based on information given by the male victim the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, Ashland Police, Beardstown Police responded to another residence in the 700 block of Lockard St. in Ashland and found two more women dead. Those women were identified as 53-year-old Christina Bell and 16-year-old Alaria Bell.

A preliminary investigation identified a suspect and suspect vehicle. A short time later, the Jacksonville Police Department found the suspect vehicle near North Main and Oak Street in Jacksonville and conducted a traffic stop on the suspect vehicle.

The suspect was located inside the vehicle with a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound. The male suspect was pronounced dead on-scene by the Morgan County Coroner’s Office. The suspect was identified as 62-year-old Ronald L. Cobren of Ashland.

The surviving male victim was transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Autopsies for the victims and suspects are scheduled for Monday.

Illinois State Police Zone 4 Investigations, Illinois State Police Crime Scene Division, Illinois State Police Patrol, Ashland Police Department, Beardstown Police Department, Pleasant Plains Police Department, Cass County Sheriff’s Office, and Menard County Sheriff’s Office were the police agencies involved in the case.

"Please keep the families and communities involved in these horrific events in your thoughts and prayers," the Cass County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. "Additional information will be released this afternoon."