According to authorities, a Wisconsin couple who was about to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary was found dead in a car stopped on the road with its hazard lights turned on.
Just before midnight on Monday, Oct. 6, an officer from the Harvard Police Department in Illinois went over to investigate an automobile that had stopped on Route 14 northbound at Burbank St. for probable motorist assistance, according to a news release.
According to the release, the officer approached the car and discovered a woman in the driver’s seat and a male passenger dead inside.
The coroner has since identified the couple as Rachel Dumovich, 29, and Brandon Dumovich, 30, both of Sharon, Wisconsin, according to Lake & McHenry County Scanner, NBC 5 Chicago, and the Kansas City Star.
The couple married on October 12, 2024, according to their wedding website on The Knot.
In the “Our Story” section of the page, Rachel stated that she and Brandon met in middle school when they were both twelve. “I caught Brandon’s attention by stealing cologne from his locker and running away with it,” she said.
After being friends for 15 years, they began dating in 2022, she said, and Brandon proposed in the summer of 2023 on Big Cedar Lake in Slinger, where she had spent many happy years at her grandparents’ home.
“We can’t wait to share the next chapter of our love story surrounded by our friends and family,” she said.
According to authorities, a preliminary investigation found that each of the victims had been shot once. A firearm was found inside the vehicle.
Initially, authorities issued a notice to neighbors, informing them of a significant police presence in the area and recommending them to stay indoors.
“It was later determined that there was no ongoing threat to the community,” police stated in their announcement.
The case is still under active investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Harvard Police Department at (815) 943-4431 or give it anonymously through the Crime Stoppers hotline at (815) 943-4343 or by email at [email protected].
