Two brothers in Illinois have been arrested and charged in connection to the death of a restaurant owner and father of four who was reportedly dating their mother.
According to a press release from the Waukegan Police Department shared with PEOPLE, the incident occurred at approximately 11:27 p.m. local time on Saturday, Feb. 8, at a restaurant on the 2100 block of North Green Bay Road. The restaurant is Forty One Fourteen Steaks and Seafood, per multiple reports.
Upon arrival, officers found a 51-year-old man with “multiple stab wounds in critical condition.” He was later identified by the Lake County Coroner’s Office as Joshua Kirkwood of Waukegan, Ill.
Kirkwood was a father of four who helped to run the restaurant with his son, ABC7 reported. After being transported to Vista Medical Center East, he died in the emergency room.
Police said that autopsy results from the Lake County Coroner’s Office indicated that Kirkwood died from “multiple sharp force injuries.”
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According to police, the incident “appears to be domestically related, as Kirkwood was reported to be in a relationship with the suspects’ mother.”
One of the two suspects, 21-year-old Round Lake resident Iziah Gonzalez, worked at the restaurant with his mother, whose identity was not released.
“After an argument between Kirkwood and the mother, Gonzalez got into a physical altercation with him,” police said. “Gonzalez’ brother then joined into the physical altercation and began stabbing Kirkwood. During which his mother sustained a laceration to her leg and later went to Vista Medical Center for treatment.”
Gonzalez’s brother is described by police as a 16-year-old Waukegan resident, however, his name was not disclosed.
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According to a petition filed by Lake County prosecutors and obtained by The Chicago Tribune, an employee told police that the mother and Kirkwood argued frequently and the incident took place as they were having a “heated discussion” in Kirkwood’s office.
Police noted that while an “event” was going on at the restaurant at the time of the incident, it did “not appear to be related” to Kirkwood’s stabbing. NBC 5 Chicago reports that the event was a sex reveal party.
Gonzalez sustained a laceration to his finger, police said in their press release. He provided a statement once he was taken into custody and was charged with first-degree murder. Online records show he is currently being held at Lake County Jail.
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His brother, who police said “did the stabbing,” was charged as an adult with first-degree murder. According to police, the 16-year-old turned himself in at the Waukegan Police Department on Monday, Feb. 10, after detectives’ attempts to locate him were unsuccessful.
The mother was not charged, The Chicago Tribune reported.
“He just wanted a place where we could have brunch, karaoke, and games. I really haven’t come to terms with it yet, because it’s the exact opposite of what he was striving for,” Waukegan resident Jurnee Iverson told ABC7 of Kirkwood’s death.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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