Bond set at $5 million for man charged in McHenry County double murder
A McHenry County judge set bond at $5 million Saturday morning for a Crystal Lake man charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife and a 15-year-old girl at their home.
Associate Judge Mark Facchini granted a public defender to 31-year-old Ryan Yarber, setting his next court date for 9 a.m. Tuesday. Yarber did not speak in court, and no family was with him during bond court at the McHenry County jail.
Assistant State's Attorney Kyle Bruett cited children in the home as a reason for requesting the high bond. Bruett said Yarber lived in Oregon until last year and did not have ties to the community.
Facchini also impounded the file of the 15-year-old victim after the assistant state's attorney said next of kin hadn't been notified. However, the McHenry County coroner's office previously said in a news release that the identity was being withheld at the request of her family and because of the victim's age.
Authorities were called to Yarber's home on Marian Parkway around 8 p.m. Thursday for a report of a female armed with a knife. As officers headed to the house, authorities said, they got additional information indicating a man in the home was armed with a handgun.
Officers discovered that Yarber's wife, Allania S. Yarber, 31, and the 15-year-old had been shot multiple times inside the home. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting remains under investigation by Crystal Lake police, the McHenry County state's attorney's office and the coroner's office.
If convicted, Yarber is eligible for a life sentence in prison.
The Yarbers bought the Crystal Lake home last year, according to the Nunda Township assessor and McHenry County treasurer tax records.
Federal court documents indicate that in 2014, the couple filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, citing personal and credit card debt. One of the assets they listed was $8,500 in bond money they expected to get back from the Washington County, Oregon, sheriff's office, which had been posted on Ryan Yarber's behalf. The bankruptcy records do not indicate what he had been charged with but do note that charges were ultimately dismissed. They also indicate that at that time both worked for Capital One.
A 2004 news release from San Jose State University indicated that Allania Yarber, then Allania Reynolds, had been signed to play basketball for the university. Her name appeared on the 2004-05 roster.
Crystal Lake police were not available to answer questions Saturday as to who the 15-year-old victim is or why she was at the house.