Coroner IDs Female Sailor, Her Boyfriend Fatally Shot At Great Lakes Naval Station Housing Complex
NORTH CHICAGO, IL — The identiities of a man and woman found fatally shot at a Great Lakes Naval Station housing complex have been released.
John Taylor, 39, and Olivia Lacey, 36, both died of a single gunshot wound to the head, according to preliminary autopsy results from the Lake County Coroner's Office. Their bodies were found in Navy housing in the 2300 block of California Avenue in North Chicago on October 10, according to Navy officials and the coroner's office.
Investigators believe Taylor shot Lacey and then turned the gun on himself in an apparent murder-suicide, which remains under investigation by the North Chicago Police Department. Lacey was an active service member at Great Lakes, officials told Patch.
While investigators believe this was an isolated incident, where the man shot the woman and then shot himself, the incident remains under investigation by the North Chicago Police Department.
Both Taylor and Lacey lived at the house where the shootings occurred. They were in a relationship but it is unclear if they were legally married, Stephen Newton, deputy chief with the Lake County Coroner's Office, told Patch.
"We mourn the loss of our shipmate and extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends and coworkers of the Sailor and the other individual involved. Our thoughts are with all those affected during this difficult time," according to a statement from the Navy. "Grief counseling and support services are available through the chain of command and the command chaplain."
The deaths reported Friday at Great Lakes is the second time in recent months recruits have died at the training facility, which is the Navy's largest training installation and the home of the Navy's only boot camp.
A different recruit died in early August, Lt. Beau Nickerson, a public affairs officer at Great Lakes Naval Station, told Patch. The incident happened at about 1:45 p.m. on Aug. 6 at one of the firing ranges on the base, Lake County Coroner Stephen Newton told Patch.
The soldier was identified as Kayshawn Wilkerson, 18, who died by an apparent suicide at a firing range.
The naval station has become a logistical hub for some 300 federal agents in recent weeks as part of an immigration enforcement crackdown in the Chicago area.
