Michael Osborne, a 59-year-old resident of Waukegan, Illinois, was fatally shot on September 5, 2023. The incident occurred at his home in the 300 block of Helmholz Avenue, where the Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department responded around 10:45 a.m. for a death investigation. Initially, police believed Osborne had died from an accidental fall, given his serious health issues and recent hospital discharge.
The police report suggested that Osborne had fallen and hit his head on the corner of a dresser.
However, this initial assessment was later proven incorrect. A funeral home discovered a gunshot wound to Osborne's head after taking possession of his body. A longtime friend of Osborne revealed that the funeral home found the bullet wound, contradicting the police's initial conclusion. According to the friend, Osborne had been sitting on his bed when a shot was fired through the window of the room, and the police had failed to examine the window with the bullet hole.
The Lake County Coroner’s Office was notified by the funeral home on September 6 about the injury behind Osborne's ear, which they suspected was a gunshot wound. The body was then transported to the coroner’s office for an examination, which confirmed that Osborne died from a gunshot wound to the head. Detectives returned to the residence to conduct a thorough investigation following this new information.
Despite the homicide occurring over a week prior, the Waukegan Police Department had not released any information on the case as of the report. The family and friends of Osborne expressed concern that they had inadvertently contaminated the crime scene by entering the room to say their final goodbyes, believing it was an accidental death at the time.
