The families of two young people who died in Carbondale within the past three years are continuing to pursue the justice they say is being covered-up by local law enforcement, most notably, Jackson County State's Attorney, Mike Carr.
This is the one-year anniversary of the death of 19-year-old Pravin Varughese. The SIU-C student went missing the night of February 12th, 2014. His body was found February 18th in a wooded area off the 1400 block of East Main Street. A Jackson County coroner's autopsy showed no evidence of foul play, although a second autopsy - called for by the family - showed Varughese suffered a traumatic blow to the head.
Twenty-one -year-old Molly Young died from a gunshot wound to the head in the Carbondale apartment of her ex-boyfriend, Richie Minton, a Carbondale police dispatcher at the time in March 2012. Authorities listed Young's death as a suicide. But, her father insists she was murdered.
Friday, Varughese's mother Lovely, Young's father Larry, and their attorney Charles Stegmeyer held a news conference to talk about the cases. A group called Arch Angels of Justice has been called in to help in the families' pursuit of justice. Investigator Ira Robins says they are calling on Governor Rauner to look into these cases and punish Carr for his role in the cover-ups. Carr is out of town and unavailable for comment. But, a letter sent from Carr's office to the Illinois Attorney General's office said Carr's office is preparing a statement about the case.
Civil lawsuits are also pending against Carbondale Police, the Jackson County coroner, among others.
