LEMONT, Ill. (WBBM) -- Two Hispanic men found lying side-by-side, wrapped in plastic and bed liners along a walking path near southwest suburban Lemont on Thursday morning were strangled, authorities said.
Jaime Cepeda, 34, of 2247 S. Homan Ave., and Edgar Mercado, 18, of 2408 S. Troy St., were both strangled, Friday autopsies have revealed, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. Both deaths were ruled homicides, the medical examiner’s office said.
The bodies were found at 7:30 a.m. Thursday near Route 83 and Jeans Road in an unincorporated area near Lemont, just inside the border of Cook and DuPage counties, according to Cook County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Penny Mateck.
The bodies were discovered by construction workers going to work Thursday along a walking path under construction in the Centennial Trail Forest Preserve area, according to a release from the sheriff’s office. The bodies were found lying side-by-side, wrapped in plastic and bed liners tied with packing tape.
Early indications are the bodies were not there for very long, the release said.
Sheriff’s detectives are being assisted by evidence technicians and Forest Preserve police in the investigation.
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