Firefighters found the bodies of two women at a South Side residence this afternoon while putting out a fire at the home, according to authorities, and police confirmed foul play is suspected.
The bodies were found about 4 p.m. as firefighters were extinguishing a fire in the 8100 block of South Maryland Avenue, according to Larry Langford, a Chicago Fire Department spokesman.
The victims are a 24-year-old woman and a 43-year-old woman, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Both women were pronounced dead on the scene at 5:35 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office. Their names and home addresses were not being released immediately pending notification of next of kin.
An arson and homicide investigation is under way, said Police News Affairs Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti.
No one is in custody Wednesday night, she said.
Preliminary reports indicate that at least one of the victims was found stabbed to death, and the residence may have been set ablaze to conceal their deaths, sources said.
The bodies, believed to be a mother and daughter, were found in a bathroom, according to a source.
A large kitchen knife was found in the bathroom, near where one body was found in a bathtub and the other on the floor, according to a source, citing initial information.
Chicago police officers sealed off the three-story multi-unit building near the southwest corner of East 81st Street and South Maryland Avenue with yellow and red crime tape. Several onlookers gazed at the building in the fire's aftermath.
Investigators could be seen inside the first-floor apartment unit where the fire erupted, its rear window broken and covered by a tarp. Several men working for two different board-up companies also stood in the alley while police conducted their investigation.
Brittany Pullum was inside her apartment across the alley when she saw black smoke coming from the first-floor unit. She said she then ran outside and saw about 15 to 20 people who evacuated from the fire building.
Pullum said a lady who evacuated told her she called 911.
"It's crazy. It's crazy," Pullum said, still appearing somewhat shocked at the news of the two deaths. "It's scary. Very scary."
One of the fire building's tenants, Alexander Brown, said his wife was home during the fire, but their unit wasn't damaged.
He said their unit, where he's lived for about five years, is next-door to the burned apartment. Brown was outside of the building after the blaze and said he was eager to find shelter because of the frigid temperatures.
Brown didn't know the occupants of the burned unit too well, but he said he's seen two women coming and going from there, periodically.
Police said the two victims were females. Although an autopsy Thursday will determine the official cause of their deaths, police said at least one of the deaths might be a domestic-related homicide.
Police said the fire was confined to the one unit, which appeared badly damaged.
Langford said the investigation has been turned over to the Chicago Police.
chicagobreaking@tribune.com
Homicide probe under way after 2 women found dead in blaze
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