MORRISON, Illinois -- Authorities investigating the homicide of a 53-year-old woman whose body was found Saturday inside her burning house in Morrison, Illinois, have arrested her 15-year-old daughter, whom they suspect is the killer, PEOPLE confirms.A spokesman for the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office in Illinois confirms that law enforcement has arrested the teenage daughter of Peggy Schroeder, who was Deaf.
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The girl is charged as a juvenile with two counts of first-degree murder, concealment of homicidal death and arson. Though authorities reportedly said Schroeder was shot in the head, her cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
PEOPLE does not identify juveniles accused of crimes unless they are tried as adults.
The girl did not enter a plea during a court hearing Tuesday in juvenile court. Prosecutors have yet to decide whether they plan to try her as an adult. If she is tried and convicted as a minor, she would be imprisoned until she turns 21.
Her lawyer, Jim Mertes, declined to discuss the allegations against his client.
The sheriff’s spokesman would only discuss the girl’s arrest and not the allegations against her, which were reportedly outlined by investigators during Tuesday’s hearing.
According to SaukValley.com, citing that testimony, authorities believe the teen was waiting for her mother to return from work last Thursday.
When Schroeder walked into the house around 5:30 p.m., the girl allegedly met her in the living room and had her place a towel over her face and then fired a single shot from a .38-caliber revolver into her forehead, authorities said, SaukValley.com reports.
According to court testimony, authorities claim the teen then texted a photo of Schroeder’s body to a friend to prove she had been killed. The other girl, also 15, then allegedly came over to help try to clean blood from the carpeting.
The next morning, the juveniles awoke and moved Peggy’s body from the living room to her bedroom, a sheriff’s detective claimed in court, the site reports.
The girls allegedly then spent the next two days trying to cover up the killing, according to local TV station KWQC.
SOURCE - PEOPLE
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