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An 11-year-old found dead in her Mundelein home, allegedly at the hands of a 14-year-old girl, had suffered several stab wounds, officials said this morning.

“There is evidence of trauma,” Mundelein Police Chief Eric Guenther said at a news conference. “Multiple stab wounds were evident. . .There were signs of a struggle.”

However, Guenther said authorities were waiting for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

The police chief did not name the victim or the suspect or provide the relationship between the two.

Guenther said the 14-year-old called Mundelein police around 8:25 a.m. Tuesday and said the 11-year-old was lying unconscious in a bedroom of a home in the 1600 block of Woodhaven Court.

Officers arrived minutes later and the 14-year-old answered the door, authorities said. They found the 11-year-old dead in the bedroom.

The 14-year-old girl was taken into custody and charged as a juvenile with first-degree murder. She was scheduled to appear at the Depke Juvenile Center in Vernon Hills this afternoon, he said.

Guenther said the two girls were alone in the home at the time. Police believe the 11-year-old was killed shortly before the 911 call was made. “We believe it happened in the proximity of the 911 call,” he said.

He said police had been called to the home before “but nothing that pertains to an incident like this.”

Lake County State’s Attorney Mike Nerheim declined to discuss details of the case but told reporters that “there is evidence that would indicate that those charges are appropriate.”

Mundelein High School, Mechanics Grove Elementary and Carl Sandburg Middle School were placed on lockdown after the 11-year-old was discovered. Police said the lockdown was called as a precaution.

When the 14-year-old called police, she said someone was in the home, according to Mundelein Deputy Police Chief John Monahan.

When officers arrived, Monahan said their first concern was the safety of the residents inside. But after a brief investigation of the scene, Monahan said police determined that information was untrue.

The 11-year-old had been a student at St. John Lutheran School in Libertyville. The family has been a member of St. John Lutheran Church for years, according to Steven Fuoco, an attorney for the church and school

Source: Chicago Tribune