After she took coronavirus test, man kills girlfriend in murder-suicide, IL cops say

A man scared that he and his girlfriend had coronavirus killed her in a murder-suicide, Illinois police say.

However, neither had COVID-19.

Sheriff’s deputies went to the couple’s home in Will County on Thursday after the man’s parents became concerned they hadn’t heard from him, according to a news release. Will County is just south of Chicago.

The deputies found Patrick Jesernik, 54, and Cheryl Schriefer, 59, both dead inside the residence with gunshot wounds to their heads. Schriefer was shot in the back of the head at close range while Jesernik was found dead in another room from a self-inflicted wound, police said.

“There were no signs of a struggle, and the home was neat and orderly,” police said.

Family arrived at the home and told investigators that Jesernik was worried that he and Schriefer contracted coronavirus, according to the news release. Schriefer had taken a test for the virus two days earlier after having a difficult time breathing, police said. However, family members said Schriefer hadn’t yet received the test results to their knowledge.

An autopsy was performed on the couple’s bodies, and both tested negative for COVID-19, police said.

It doesn’t appear the couple had a history of domestic violence. Detectives checked their criminal history and found “limited contact” with the police and no calls to the home for domestic violence.

“During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the vast majority of service calls that deputies have been responding to involve domestic disputes and crisis intervention calls,” the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Data suggests that domestic violence is surging as people are asked to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic, according to The New York Times.

António Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations, urged countries to prioritize the safety of women during the pandemic in a tweet on Sunday.

“Peace is not just the absence of war,” Guterres tweeted. “Many women under lockdown for COVID-19 face violence where they should be safest: in their own homes.”

A positive test for coronavirus is not a death sentence. COVID-19 has a 2.9 percent fatality rate in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University.

This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 5:21 PM with the headline "After she took coronavirus test, man kills girlfriend in murder-suicide, IL cops say."