Overview
- Ronald W. Martin Jr., 45, was arrested Thursday evening on family property about 30 miles from the crime scene after a multi-agency manhunt involving Illinois State Police air operations and U.S. Marshals.
- Court records name the slain as Sidney Schiltz, who prosecutors say was shot during an argument, and Melissa Vissman, who was shot multiple times.
- Two other occupants escaped the home—one called 911 and another was injured by shrapnel while fleeing the fire.
- Martin has been charged with six counts of murder in LaSalle County Court and remains in custody pending his first appearance.
- Investigators and the Illinois State Fire Marshal are probing the origin of the blaze to reconstruct the timeline of the pre-dawn killings.