Late Cook County commissioner’s widow, son found shot dead in Chicago

A prominent Chicago family is at the center of a double homicide investigation after the widow and son of late Cook County Commissioner Dennis Deer were found shot to death Tuesday inside a West Side home.

Officers responded to the responded to the North Lawndale home just before 6 p.m. local time Tuesday where they found Deer’s widow, Barbara Deer, 51, and son, Kaleb Deer, 23, shot to death, FOX 32 Chicago reported.

Barbara Deer suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and Kaleb Deer had been shot in the head, according to the report.

It is unclear what led to the discovery of the bodies.

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Police noted a weapon was found at the scene, though its details have not yet been publicly released.

Neighbor Rev. Chris Griffin told WGN-TV there was suspicious activity at the Deer household before police responded, noting he received a call to “check on someone in Barbara’s home.”

“We didn’t know what was going on,” Griffin told the outlet. “When we got here, the house was locked, both doors were closed, their dog was outside barking, which is not normal. … The dog had been out for over an hour, and that was a little bit of a red flag.”

The deaths are being investigated as homicide, according to the report. No arrests have been announced.

Barbara Deer, a North Lawndale native, married her high school sweetheart, Dennis Deer, 51, who died in 2024 following a double lung transplant, FOX 32 and WGN-TV reported.

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She was active in the community, volunteering and sitting on various community committees.