Chris Harris, top right, is accused of killing Rick and Ruth Gee and three of their children at their Beason home, background. His brother, Jason Harris, top left, was charged Thursday with five counts of murder and one of attempted murder. Jason's fiancee Jennifer Earnest, bottom left, and Earnest's mother Sara Duncan, bottom right, now face obstruction of justice charges. (Pantagraph photos)
LINCOLN -- A Florida woman charged with obstructing justice in the murder investigation of five members of a Beason family has been returned to Illinois to face charges.
Sara Duncan, 43, was processed at the Logan County Safety Complex on Sunday before being housed in the Macon County jail, according to a spokeswoman for the Illinois attorney general's office.
Duncan was arrested Oct. 9 in Sarasota, Fla., and accused of providing a false alibi for Christopher J. Harris who, along with his brother, Jason L. Harris, is charged with the Sept. 21 murder of Rick and Ruth Gee and three of their children.
Duncan was questioned by police after she returned to her home in Sarasota from a weeklong visit to Illinois to visit her daughter, Jennifer Earnest, in Armington. Earnest, 24, is the girlfriend of Jason Harris and faces obstruction of justice charges similar to Duncan's.
The Harris brothers also are charged with the attempted murder of Tabitha Gee, the slain couple's 3-year-old daughter who survived the attack.
Duncan had been held in the Sarasota County jail without bond on a fugitive warrant from Illinois. The judge ordered Duncan to have no contact with Tabitha Gee.
A Logan County court appearance has not been set for Duncan.
Authorities have not responded to questions about the specifics of the murders, referring only to a brief state-ment in the charges that says the victims, including Justina Gee, 16, Dillen Gee, 14, and Austin Gee, 11, died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head. Police said they have a determined a motive for the deaths but have declined to share it with the public.
Christopher Harris, 30, was once married to Nicole Gee, the daughter of Rick Gee. The couple has two chil-dren: a daughter about 9 years old and a son several months old.
Jason Harris, 22, is being housed in the McLean County jail and Earnest and Christopher Harris are in the Logan County jail. The Harris brothers are held without bond, and Earnest must post $5,000 to be released.
Posted in Local, Crime-and-courts on Monday, October 19, 2009 2:20 pm Updated: 3:30 pm. | Tags: Beason Slayings
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