Christopher Harris and the 2009 Gee Family Murders
The Mass Murder in Beason, Illinois
Christopher Harris was convicted of murdering five members of the Gee family during a violent attack inside their home in Beason, Illinois, in September 2009. The victims included two adults and three children. A sixth victim, three-year-old Tabitha Gee, suffered severe injuries but survived. The killings shocked the small farming community of Beason, an unincorporated community in Logan County with fewer than 200 residents at the time.
The attack occurred during the night of September 20 and the early morning hours of September 21, 2009, at the Gee family residence on the outskirts of Beason. Harris knew the family and had previously been married to Nicole Gee, an adult daughter of Raymond and Ruth Gee. Because of that relationship, Harris was familiar with the victims and their home.
The Victims
- Raymond “Rick” Gee — Age 46. Murdered during the night of September 20–21, 2009, inside his family’s home in Beason, Logan County, Illinois.
- Ruth Gee — Age 39. Rick Gee’s wife. Murdered during the same attack inside the Beason residence.
- Justina Constant — Age 16. Ruth Gee’s daughter and Rick Gee’s stepdaughter. Murdered inside the family home.
- Dillen Constant — Age 14. Ruth Gee’s son and Rick Gee’s stepson. Murdered during the attack.
- Austin Gee — Age 11. The son of Rick and Ruth Gee. Murdered inside the residence.
- Tabitha Gee — Age 3. The daughter of Rick and Ruth Gee. She was severely injured during the attack but survived.
Events Before the Murders
On September 20, 2009, Christopher Harris and his younger brother, Jason Harris, spent time drinking and using drugs. Evidence presented during the later trial indicated that the brothers traveled to Beason during the night. Jason eventually admitted that he accompanied Christopher to the area of the Gee residence but maintained that he remained outside while Christopher entered the house.
According to Jason Harris’s testimony, Christopher carried a tire iron as he approached the home. Jason said he waited outside and heard noises coming from the residence. Christopher later emerged with blood on him and allegedly admitted that he had killed the family. Jason initially concealed information from investigators and helped provide misleading accounts of the brothers’ activities.
Prosecutors argued that Christopher Harris went to the Gee residence with criminal intentions involving 16-year-old Justina Constant. The prosecution contended that when members of the household interrupted or resisted him, Harris attacked the family to eliminate witnesses. Harris denied that version of events and presented a dramatically different explanation at trial.
The Attack Inside the Gee Residence
Investigators determined that the victims were attacked with a heavy, blunt object. A tire iron associated with Harris was identified as being consistent with the weapon used in the killings. The victims were found in different areas of the residence, indicating that the attack unfolded throughout the home rather than in one isolated location.
Rick and Ruth Gee and the children suffered extensive blunt-force injuries. Prosecutors maintained that Harris moved through the residence attacking each person he encountered. The number and distribution of the injuries were presented as evidence that the killings were deliberate and that the victims had been unable to defend themselves effectively against the armed attacker.
Three-year-old Tabitha Gee was also struck and left among the victims. Although critically injured, she remained alive. Her survival became one of the most significant aspects of the case. She required extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation after suffering serious head trauma.
Discovery of the Crime Scene
The bodies were discovered on September 21, 2009, after relatives and acquaintances became concerned when members of the family could not be reached. Emergency personnel entered the residence and found five members of the household dead. Tabitha was discovered alive and was rushed for emergency medical care.
The scale of the killings led to an intensive investigation involving the Logan County Sheriff’s Department, the Illinois State Police and forensic specialists. Authorities processed the house for blood evidence, fingerprints, DNA, footwear impressions and other physical evidence that could identify the attacker and reconstruct the sequence of events.
The Investigation
Christopher Harris quickly became a person of interest because of his connection to the family and information about his activities on the night of the murders. Investigators learned that Christopher and Jason Harris had been together and had traveled to Beason. Their statements about their movements contained inconsistencies, prompting detectives to examine their accounts more closely.
Physical evidence connected Christopher Harris to the Gee residence. Investigators also recovered evidence associated with the suspected tire iron. Blood evidence, witness testimony and Harris’s own admissions that he had been inside the home placed him at the scene during the killings.
Jason Harris initially withheld information and attempted to protect his brother. He later entered into an agreement with prosecutors and provided a detailed account of the night. He testified that Christopher had entered the house carrying the tire iron and later admitted responsibility for killing the family.
Christopher Harris’s Defense
Harris did not deny being inside the Gee residence. Instead, he claimed that 14-year-old Dillen Constant had killed the other family members before Harris arrived. Harris testified that he entered the home, discovered the killings and was then attacked by Dillen. He claimed that he killed the teenager in self-defense.
The defense portrayed Dillen as a troubled adolescent who had suddenly turned against his family. Harris’s attorneys argued that the physical evidence could support a confrontation between Harris and Dillen. They maintained that Harris had not murdered the other victims and had only used force after being attacked.
Prosecutors characterized this account as an attempt to place responsibility on a deceased child who could not defend himself. They argued that the crime-scene evidence, the nature of the injuries and Jason Harris’s testimony demonstrated that Christopher was responsible for all five deaths and the attack on Tabitha.
Forensic Evidence and Prosecution Arguments
Forensic specialists testified about blood patterns, DNA evidence and the victims’ injuries. The prosecution maintained that the evidence did not support Harris’s claim that Dillen had committed the murders before attacking him. Instead, prosecutors argued that the patterns inside the house showed that Harris had moved from victim to victim while armed with the tire iron.
The state emphasized that Harris had given changing accounts of what happened. His eventual acknowledgment that he had killed Dillen came only after evidence placed him inside the home. Prosecutors argued that his self-defense explanation had been constructed to account for physical evidence that he could no longer deny.
Jason Harris’s testimony was also central to the case. He told jurors that his brother admitted killing the family after leaving the residence. Although the defense attacked Jason’s credibility because of his own involvement, drug use and agreement with prosecutors, the state argued that his testimony was supported by independent physical evidence.
Trial and Convictions
Christopher Harris’s trial began in May 2013. Because of extensive publicity in Logan County, the trial was moved to Peoria County. Prosecutors presented testimony from investigators, forensic specialists, medical experts and people familiar with Harris and the Gee family.
On May 31, 2013, the jury rejected Harris’s claim that Dillen had murdered the family. Harris was found guilty of five counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Rick Gee, Ruth Gee, Justina Constant, Dillen Constant and Austin Gee. He was also convicted of attempted first-degree murder for the attack on Tabitha Gee and other offenses connected to the crime.
The verdict established that Harris alone was legally responsible for the five deaths. Jurors concluded that his claim of self-defense and his accusation against Dillen were not credible when compared with the forensic evidence and testimony presented by the prosecution.
Sentencing
On July 19, 2013, Christopher Harris was sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Each life sentence represented one of the five murder victims. He also received additional prison time for the attempted murder of Tabitha and related offenses.
The consecutive sentences ensured that Harris would never be released from prison. During the sentencing proceedings, relatives described the permanent emotional damage caused by the loss of nearly an entire household. The court emphasized the number of victims, the ages of the children and the brutality of the attack.
Jason Harris’s Role
Jason Harris was not prosecuted as the person who physically committed the murders. However, he admitted that he had accompanied Christopher to the area, remained outside the home and later concealed information about what had happened. His failure to immediately report the killings and his efforts to mislead investigators resulted in criminal charges.
Jason pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and received a 20-year prison sentence. His cooperation and testimony became important evidence against Christopher, but prosecutors still sought a substantial sentence because Jason had helped conceal the truth about the deaths of five people and the near-fatal attack on a child.
The Surviving Child
Tabitha Gee was the only person inside the home known to have survived the attack. She was found with severe injuries and initially faced an uncertain medical future. Her recovery required prolonged treatment and support from relatives and medical professionals.
Because Tabitha was only three years old and had suffered significant trauma, she was not able to provide investigators with a detailed eyewitness account. Nevertheless, her survival resulted in the attempted-murder conviction that added another serious sentence to Harris’s punishment.
Impact on Beason
The Gee family murders profoundly affected Beason and the surrounding Logan County community. Residents of the small town were unaccustomed to violent crime on such a scale. The deaths of five members of one family, including three children, generated widespread grief, fear and disbelief.
Community members organized memorials, fundraisers and other forms of support for the surviving relatives. The case remained prominent in central Illinois throughout the lengthy investigation, pretrial proceedings and 2013 trial.
Aftermath
Christopher Harris continued to challenge his convictions through the appellate process, arguing that errors had occurred during his trial. The convictions and sentences, however, left him imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole.
The case is remembered as one of the most devastating mass murders in central Illinois history. Five people were killed in their own home, a young child was nearly killed and a surviving family was forced to endure years of investigation and courtroom proceedings. The jury’s verdict placed responsibility on Christopher Harris and rejected his attempt to blame the massacre on one of the children he had killed.
