Kane County Coroner Releases Causes of Death in St. Charles Shooting (2024)

Randall Coffland, 48, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and his daughters also died of gunshot wounds to the head.

Posted Sun, Mar 12, 2017 at 3:48 pm CT|Updated Tue, Mar 14, 2017 at 5:58 am CT

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ST. CHARLES, IL - The Kane County Coroner's Office confirmed on Monday twin sisters Tiffany and Brittany Coffland, both 16, died of a single gunshot wound to the head while their father, Randall Coffland, died of a "single self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head."

The autopsies were performed on Monday -- a day after authorities released 911 calls made from inside the St. Charles condo Randall Coffland and his teenage daughters were found shot dead on Friday. The calls paint a gruesome picture that pointed to Randall R. Coffland, 48, as the gunman who killed his two daughters before he shot and killed himself. He also shot his wife, Anjum Coffland, 46, in the legs.

“I just shot my two kids, and I shot my wife and now I’m going to shoot myself,” a man authorities identified as Randall Coffland said in one of the 911 calls placed Friday evening from inside Coffland’s condo at 450 S. 1st St. At the start of the call, Coffland is heard saying to someone else in the home, "I want you to live and suffer like I did."

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The second 911 call released Sunday came moments later from a panicked Anjum Coffland, who told dispatchers her husband shot her and the teenage girls. "Oh my God, my husband shot my kids," the mother said. She can be heard screaming her daughters' names and yelling, "My girls are dead!" As first responders arrive, Anjum Coffland tells them where to find her daughters and says she does not know where Randall Coffland is in the home.

WARNING: DISTURBING AUDIO

“Our preliminary investigation has led us to believe this was an isolated domestic event,” St. Charles Deputy Chief David Kintz said during a press conference on Sunday. Toxicology samples were collected from the shooting victims on Monday and sent to a lab for analysis, according to a Kane County Coroner's Office news release.

Authorities arrived on scene at 5:12 p.m. to find Randall and one of his teenage daughters dead on the couch and the other dead in a bedroom, Kintz said.

“There was no indication of a struggle (between Randall and his teenage daughters),” said Kintz. Police said the girls previously attended Oswego High School, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Brittany and Tiffany were juniors at St. Charles East High School at the time of the shooting, Jim Blaney, spokesman for St. Charles District 303 said in an e-mail.

At school on Monday, about 50 students gathered in the school’s small theater as the sun rose for a prayer vigil put on by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes club, according to the Daily Herald.

Almost all students at the school wore purple or blue, the twins’ favorite colors, in honor of Brittany and Tiffany, during the school day. Senior Rachel Garland and three friends spent their weekend cutting out 2,000 purple and blue hearts, which they placed on every locker in the building, according to the Daily Herald.

On Tuesday, which was supposed to be the twins 17th birthday, a moment of silence has been planned at St. Charles East High School, the Aurora-Beacon News reports.

Teachers had recently been alerted to keep a close on the Coffland twins as they may need more assistance because of a problem at home, the Daily Herald reports.

“Our teachers see these kids almost every day,” Blaney told the Daily Herald. “They know what kind of issues they have surrounding their lives. We have an expectation that everyone of our staff members is looking out for our kids.”

Over the past weekend, evidence technicians recovered two 9mm handguns from the scene of the fatal shooting. One of the guns was found near Randall Coffland and the other was found in a closet. A single casing was also found near each of the victims, Kintz said Sunday. Authorities are still investigating who the guns belonged to but did say Randall Coffland had a valid FOID card.

St. Charles investigators, who worked around the clock over the weekend, are continuing to investigate what led to the shooting.

“...This was a tragic and horrific event,” Kintz said. “Three lives were lost and another (person) was injured. First responders also had to deal with the aftermath of this event and our entire community mourns the loss of the victims.”

Randall Coffland and Anjum Coffland were living at separate addresses at the time of the shooting. Randall was living with the couple’s daughters and Anjum was living elsewhere, Kintz said.

“We don’t know why the mother was there (prior to the shooting),” Kintz said. “Obviously, that’s something we want to figure out.”

Investigators have spoken briefly with Anjum Coffland, who is recovering at Delnor Hospital in Geneva. Kintz would not elaborate on what she told investigators. She is in stable condition.

Just over a month before the tragic shooting, officers responded to a report of "domestic trouble" involving the couple in the 100 block of South Fifth Avenue. The report, taken on Feb. 9, indicates that "nothing physical happened" during the previous incident, police said.

»Domestic Trouble Reported a Month Before Fatal St. Charles Shooting: Police

Randall Coffland has no history of violence and no history of mental illness, Kintz said.

A memorial has been set up outside the luxury condominium complex located near downtown St. Charles. Three crosses with the names “Randall,” “Brittany” and “Tiffany” can be found on a bench surrounded by flowers, balloons, lit candles, photos and messages and bible passages. Passersby on Sunday stopped outside the memorial.

After learning of the teen girls' deaths, grief-stricken teens held a vigil outside the condominium complex late Friday night, the Daily Herald reported.

The twin sisters attended St. Charles East High School, where Brittany was a cheerleader, according to the Daily Herald. She also worked in the bakery department at Blue Goose.

"Brittany was a vibrant part of our team and a loving part of our family. We are beyond sad. We are confused and devastated and mad and hurt," Paul Lencioni, owner of Blue Goose Market, said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

Tiffany worked at a pet store and was remembered by friends for her passion for animals, the Daily Herald reports.

Crisis teams were expected to be on hand Monday morning at St. Charles East High School to assist anyone needing support following the deaths of Tiffany and Brittany, said Jim Blaney, spokesman for District 303.

Anjum Coffland works as a claim adjuster for MetLife in Aurora and before that was a deputy recorder in Kendall County from September 2013 to September 2015, according to her LinkedIn profile. Randy Coffland was a Network Manager, working in the IT department for Much Shelist, P.C. in Chicago since January 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.

St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina in a statement on Saturday called the deaths "a horrific personal tragedy " for the city of St. Charles. The last time there was a murder in St. Charles was in 2008 when Arthur Manning, a carnival worker, was stabbed to death at a home on West Main Street, Kintz said.

"Being the close-knit community we are, an incident of this nature has impact beyond the immediate family--we think about and pray for the extended family which includes relatives, high school students and other friends," Rogina said. "We also pray for the greater community, all of us, that we will stand tall and provide calm and peace at such a tragic moment."