Police tape stretched across a quiet stretch of Brookstone Court in Frankfort, Illinois on Tuesday afternoon as officers responded to what they are describing as a homicide investigation involving a child. Officers surrounded a home in the residential subdivision off Pfeiffer Road, and investigators were seen entering and exiting the house well into the evening as the probe continued into Wednesday.
According to CBS Chicago, the death investigation began Tuesday afternoon in the southwest suburb, with police confirming a child had died and that officers were treating the case as a homicide. The exact circumstances of the death are not known at this time, and the village said Tuesday that more information would be available the following morning, per the same report. Reporter Elyssa Kaufman, a digital producer for the station, noted that few additional details had been released as the scene remained active.
Separately, FOX 32 Chicago reported officers blocked off Brookstone Court while maintaining a major presence at the residence, with investigators repeatedly seen going in and out of the home as evidence collection continued. Brookstone Court connects directly to Pfeiffer Road, a major arterial roadway where Frankfort recently completed a multi-million dollar extension project meant to ease traffic flow through the village's residential subdivisions, according to The Times of Northwest Indiana.
A Suburb Where Homicides Almost Never Happen
What makes the case especially jarring for residents is just how rare violent crime, let alone homicide, is in Frankfort. FBI figures compiled by OpenCrime show the village recorded zero homicides in 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2020. Local prosecutors with the Will County State's Attorney's Office noted in 2019 that a 1998 murder stood as the village's only known civilian homicide in its first 128 years of existence, a case that ended with a guilty plea and a life sentence that year.
OpenCrime's 2024 data also shows Frankfort logged just seven violent crimes total that year — six aggravated assaults and one rape — for a violent crime rate of 33.2 per 100,000 residents, roughly 90 percent below the national average of 359.1. Census data cited by Data USA describe Frankfort as an affluent suburb of about 20,651 residents, with a median household income of $154,375 and a homeownership rate near 95 percent, located roughly 35 miles southwest of Chicago in northeast Will County.
Who Handles the Investigation From Here
The Frankfort Police Department, commanded by Chief Leanne Chelepis, is leading the on-scene response. Chelepis was sworn in as the village's first female police chief in August 2021 after 19 years working her way up from patrol officer to sergeant within the department, according to Patch.
Because the case involves a child's death, the Will County Coroner's Office, led by Coroner Laurie Summers, will be responsible for conducting an autopsy. Under Illinois law and county policy, the coroner's office maintains a strict practice of withholding the names of juvenile victims from public release. Summers told the Will County Board in her June 2026 annual address that her office handled 7,992 death investigations across the county in 2025, offering a sense of the scale of casework her office manages beyond this single case.
Serious child death and abuse investigations in Will County are typically handled in coordination with the Will County State's Attorney's Office Juvenile Division and the Will County Children's Advocacy Center, according to Joliet Patch. Additionally, sudden, unexpected, or suspicious child deaths in Illinois trigger a mandatory review under the state's Child Death Review Team Act, which requires a multidisciplinary regional team operating under the Department of Children and Family Services to examine the case within 90 days of the investigation's completion.
No suspects, charges, or details about the child's age or identity have been made public. Investigators have not released information about the exact cause of death or the circumstances that led to Tuesday's emergency response, and it remains unclear when authorities plan to share further updates on the case.
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