Man In Illinois Kills Partner & Himself Fearing They Had Coronavirus

A man who believed he had the coronavirus killed himself and his partner.

BYCole Blake
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A man in Illinois reportedly shot and killed his partner and himself after suspecting that they both contracted the coronavirus. 

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Patrick Jesernik, 54 and Cheryl Schriefer, 59, were both tested for the virus two days prior to their deaths but never saw the results. After they died, their tests came back negative. 

press release from the Will County Sheriff’s Office detailed the scene officers arrived at the house:

All of the doors and windows of the residence were locked from the inside.  Police and fire personnel forced entry into the residence.  Deputies located Patrick Jesernik, age 54, and Cheryl Schriefer, age 59, in separate rooms of the residence, both deceased.  Both individuals had a pooling of blood formed around their heads.  A loaded revolver, containing two spent shell casings and three live rounds were located near Patrick’s body.  There were no signs of a struggle, and the home was neat and orderly

An autopsy confirmed that Schriefer's death was a homicide and Jesernik's was a suicide.

The Sheriff's Office concluded the press release by mentioning that there has been a rise in domestic disputes during the COVID-19 pandemic: "During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the vast majority of service calls that Deputies have been responding to, involve domestic disputes and crisis intervention calls... you can reach out to Guardian Angel Community Service Groundwork 24 hour domestic violence hotline at 815-729-1228."

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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.