Charges filed in 2017 East Dundee-area homicide, arson
Prosecutors have charged two men with the slaying of a 36-year-old East Dundee-area man whose body was found shot and badly burned after a 2017 house fire.
The Kane County sheriff's office on Wednesday announced charges against Miguel Cruz-Tinajero, 34, of Carpentersville, and Mahmood Roohani, 30, of West Chicago, in connection with the death of Vesel Vejseli. Both men are charged with first-degree murder, aggravated arson and concealment of a homicidal death, according to a news release.
Cruz-Tinajero was arrested Aug. 18 and remained at the Kane County jail Monday. Roohani was being detained in DuPage County on unrelated charges when Kane County prosecutors approved the first-degree murder charges. He remained in DuPage County Monday afternoon.
The charges stem from a three-year investigation into what was originally reported as a house fire on the 15N300 block of Richardson Drive, Dundee Township. Kane County sheriff's deputies and the East Dundee Fire Department were called to the house at 3:30 a.m. on June 17, 2017, according to the release. Inside, first responders found a body that later was identified as Vejseli's. A dog at the house also died.
An X-ray of Vejseli's body further revealed he had been shot multiple times, according to the release.
The discovery prompted a yearslong homicide investigation led by sheriff's detectives and assisted by the Kane County Major Crimes Task Force.
Several outside agencies also assisted with the investigation, including the Elgin Police Department, McHenry County sheriff's office, DuPage County sheriff's office, Kane County coroner's office and the Kane County state's attorney's office.
During the investigation, one of the men provided information that led to charges against the other accused man, Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain said Monday. Hain declined to say which of the suspects gave police information about the other, citing safety precautions and an ongoing investigation.
Hain also attributed the three-year span between Vejseli's death and the approval of charges to the extensive amount of time it took to gather evidence.