In what was later described by authorities as a murder-suicide, 16-year-old Faith Kies died from a gunshot wound on Saturday, January 16, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona. The female teenager, a sophomore at Woodstock North High School in Illinois, was found critically injured inside a Phoenix home belonging to the parents of her 24-year-old boyfriend, Alexander O'Neill.
O'Neill was found deceased at the scene from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The tragic events began to unfold after Faith's parents reported her missing on Thursday, January 14, 2016, when they discovered a note in her room indicating she had left and was safe. Believing she was with O'Neill, whom the family had known for two years, law enforcement in McHenry County, Illinois, alerted Phoenix police that the pair might be heading to O'Neill's parents' residence in Arizona.
On the evening of Friday, January 15, Phoenix police located O'Neill's vehicle outside his parents' home. While officers were speaking with O'Neill's parents at the front of the house, they heard two gunshots from inside. Upon entering the home, they discovered both Kies and O'Neill with gunshot wounds. Faith Kies was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and was taken off life support the following evening. Alexander O'Neill was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests were made as the sole suspect took his own life.
