On November 11, 2023, Craig Burch, a 37-year-old resident of Southern View, Illinois, was found deceased at his residence in the 3300 block of South 3rd Street. The incident involved a murder-suicide, with Michael Gaither, 57, also of Southern View, identified as the perpetrator.
Burch was discovered in a bedroom with a single gunshot wound. A 12 gauge pump action shotgun was found outside the bedroom, with a spent shell casing still in the chamber of the weapon.
Michael Gaither was located in a bathroom bathtub, where a 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun was also found, along with a spent shell casing that appeared to have been ejected from the shotgun. Preliminary autopsy findings indicated that Gaither died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, while Burch died from the single gunshot wound inflicted by Gaither.
The Southern View Police Department conducted a welfare check at the residence at around 7 p.m. on the same day, leading to the discovery of the two deceased individuals. Both Burch and Gaither were pronounced dead at the scene at 8 p.m..
The investigation into the deaths is ongoing, with the Sangamon County Coroner and the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office involved in the case. Autopsies were conducted on both individuals on the following Monday, confirming the preliminary findings regarding the cause of their deaths.
