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Northwest Herald

Couple found dead in car in Harvard were both shot, had Crystal Lake ties

Couple identified

Police car

A man and woman found dead in a vehicle in Harvard Monday night have been identified as a couple from Sharon, Wisconsin, which sets on the Illinois state line.

Rachel Dumovich, 29, and Brandon Dumovich, 30, each sustained a gunshot wound and were pronounced deceased at the scene, McHenry County Coroner Michael Rein said in a news release Wednesday morning.

An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday, the coroner said.

A gun was recovered inside the vehicle, Harvard Police said in a new release Wednesday morning.

Online records and the Northwest Herald archives indicate that Brandon Dumovich attended Crystal Lake Central High School and played football there. What appear to be the couple’s Facebook pages also list Crystal Lake as their hometowns.

Rachel Dumovich, whose maiden name is Reimannn, attended Crystal Lake South High School, online records indicate.

Various websites indicate the couple married in Wisconsin last October. In a YouTube wedding video linked from Rachel Dumovich’s Facebook page, the couple talks about meeting when they both attended Lundahl Middle School in Crystal Lake.

On the Domovichs’ page on The Knot wedding website, the couple refer to themselves as “middle school sweethearts.” Rachel wrote that she and Brandon met when she was 12.

“I caught Brandon’s attention by stealing cologne from his locker and running away with it,” she wrote. “After keeping in touch through many life stages and 15 years of friendship, we started dating in 2022.”

She said Brandon proposed to her in Summer 2024 on Big Cedar Lake in Slinger, Wisconsin, and the couple married at the same location Oct. 12, 2024, where Rachel wrote she made many of her favorite childhood memories.

Harvard police said an officer saw their vehicle at just before midnight Monday parked in the northbound lane of the 700 block of North Division Street-Route 14 with its hazard lights activated.

When the officer approached they found the female in the driver seat and the male in the passenger seat and both were dead.

The McHenry County Major Investigative Assistance Team was activated to investigate the incident.

An initial alert was issued to residents advising of a heavy police presence in the area and to remain sheltered in place. It was later determined there was no ongoing threat to the community, and a second alert was sent advising residents to avoid the area of Route 14 between McKinley Street and Blackman Street due to road closures, according to the release.

About 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, the roadway was reopened, and a final alert was issued indicating the police activity had concluded.

The case remains under active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Harvard Police Department at 815-943-4431 or provide information anonymously through the Crime Stoppers hotline at 815-943-4343 or via email at crimestoppers@cityofharvard.org.

Amanda Marrazzo

Amanda Marrazzo is a staff reporter for Shaw Media who has written stories on just about every topic in the Northwest Suburbs including McHenry County for nearly 20 years.