5 siblings killed in northern Illinois house fire

GARDEN PRAIRIE, Ill. (AP) — A coroner’s office has identified five people, including three children, who were killed last week in a fire at a farmhouse in rural northern Illinois near the Wisconsin border.

The Boone County Coroner’s Office identified the fire victims as five siblings. They are: 24-year-old Emanuel J. McConnaughay; 20-year-old Elizabeth S.J. McConnaughay; 14-year-old Danika G. Tatman; 13-year-old Zophia L. Tatman; and 9-year-old Aniela L. Tatman.

The Rockford Register Star reports all five lived in the house outside the small Boone County town of Garden Prairie that caught fire Monday. Preliminary results from forensic autopsies indicate they died from smoke inhalation.

The fire’s cause remains under investigation.