Joliet police chief says no evidence of foul play in Des Plaines River deaths

Joliet’s top cop said at a public forum on Wednesday that his detectives have not uncovered any evidence of foul play in the deaths of people whose bodies were found in the Des Plaines River.

However, the mother of one of those victims insisted during the forum that her son had been pushed into the river last April.

A public safety forum that covered a wide variety issues was held Wednesday at Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park. During the forum, Joliet Police Chief Bill Evans spoke about the numerous cases in the last several years of people who’ve gone missing and later found in the river.

Evans said the deaths are “profoundly troubling and understandably have sparked fear and speculation.”

“So far, our investigation has not uncovered any evidence to support the belief that these deaths has resulted from any act of foul play,” Evans said.

The names of 15 people whose bodies were found in the Des Plaines River since 2020 were mentioned in a recent interview from WJOL-AM radio host Scott Slocum. Among the names mentioned were Cesar Robles, 39, Anthony Dunn, 38, Kevontay Williams, 28, Jason Bingham Jr., 24, and Robert Long, 37.

John Ross, a lieutenant with the Joliet Police Department’s investigation division, said on Wednesday that he reviewed the names that were mentioned in the WJOL interview. He said each person died from drowning.

“Each one of them, the manner of death was ruled either a suicide by the coroner’s office or undetermined by the coroner’s office. None of these deaths were attributed to homicides,” Ross said.

Jewell Robinson, the mother of Long, disputed there was no foul play in her son’s death.

“My son ain’t jump in no water. My son was pushed in that water,” Robinson said.

Long went missing on April 11 and was found dead in the Des Plaines River on April 19.

Robinson said she hasn’t heard back from a detective assigned to investigate her son’s case and she hasn’t yet received the toxicology report on his death either.

Robinson requested stronger fencing along the riverfront and more cameras.

She also asked for detectives to “really look into these cases.”

“I’ve gave them some names and I was told that ‘Oh everybody say these guys did it but can’t nobody prove it.’ Then he says to me, ‘Oh I didn’t mean to say it like that,’ Yes, you did,” Robinson said.

Evans said he’s been working on putting up signage on the riverfront to help people who are in crisis.

“Sometimes people come in there to intentionally jump in, possibly to end their life or some other reason,” Evans said.

Evans said there’s eight cameras strategically placed on the riverfront, with another four cameras expected to be installed soon.

Joliet Mayor Terry D’Arcy said they’ve been working on getting motion-sensing cameras to detect if someone jumps into the river immediately.

“No matter what it is, that can make an immediate use to see what’s going on over there. If it’s a person, we know it’s a person. If it’s something else, we know it’s something else,” D’Arcy said.