Authorities released new details of the Feb. 26 gruesome quadruple homicide, after two of the major suspects in the case were charged last week.
Anthony Barnes Jr. and Desmond Laster made their first court appearances Thursday and were charged in connection to the killings of two women and two young children. Their bail was set at $1 million each.
Barnes, 23, and Laster, 21, each face four counts of first-degree intentional homicide, one count of being felons in possession of a firearm, and one count of arson to a building.
The criminal complaint against the two men reveals how the late February crime spree allegedly unraveled.
The two men are being charged with murder after allegedly helping Laster’s girlfriend, Brittney Robertson, 19, kill her roommate Rachel Thompson, 23, and her sons in their apartment in the 800 block of South 12th Street.
In the apartment, police found Thompson’s sons, ages 3 and 4, had died after plastic garbage bags were taped around their heads. Thompson was killed after being stabbed by Robertson several times, according to the criminal complaint. It states Robertson used two knifes in the stabbing, both of which broke.
The trio stole about $800 from the apartment after the murders. However the complaint alleges the murders were committed because Robertson hated Thompson, as both women were previously in relationships with the same man, Maurice Visor. Visor is the father of Thompson’s 6-week-old son.
Barnes, Laster and Robertson then allegedly took the infant from the apartment and set the building on fire to cover up the murders. Robertson later left the baby outside Eastbrook Church, 5385 N. Green Bay Ave.
A picture of Robertson was broadcast by local affiliates after police discovered the crime scene. Officials said they believed she was in danger.
Laster and Barnes became nervous over this publicity and killed Robertson as a result of their anxiety, according to the complaint. She was shot in the head about 6 p.m. in a house in the 10100 block of West Kiehnau Avenue on the Northwest Side.
The men will return to court for preliminary hearings on March 12.