One person is dead and two others have been arrested in connection at Little Swan Lake in Warren County.
According to a release from Martin Edwards, Warren County Sheriff, deputies responded to a report of a deceased individual lying outside of a residence in the small community on Wednesday, September 13. That individual was identified as 27-year-old Donald Friday, with a last known address of Bushnell, in McDonough County.
It was learned through the investigation that Friday had died at another location which led investigators to execute a search warrant at another location in Little Swan Lake. Located and arrested by the McDonough County Sheriff’s Office in connection with the death were 27-year-old Drake Taflinger of Little Swan Lake and Alica Simpson of Macomb.
Taflinger and Simpson were charged with abuse of a corpse (unauthorized removal), and Taflinger was additionally charged as a felon in possession of ammunition. Judges set Taflinger’s bond at $75,000 (10% to apply); and Simpson’s at $50,000 (10% to apply), respectively.
An autopsy of the deceased is scheduled for Friday, September 15, as the investigation continues.
Agencies involved or assisting the Warren County Sheriff’s Office in this matter were Special Agents with the Illinois State Police, Crime Scene Investigators with the Illinois State Police, Fulton, and McDonough County Sheriff Offices, the Warren County Coroner, and the Warren County State’s Attorney’s Office.
