Prosecutors also cited a revolver, burned clothing, surveillance footage and a gas container while arguing Jeremiah Duncan should remain jailed.
PEORIA, Ill. — A recording recovered from a slain woman’s cellphone has become a key piece of evidence in the case against Jeremiah J. Duncan, the Illinois man accused of killing Heaven Wood and causing the vehicle fire that killed their 2-year-old son, prosecutors disclosed at a recent detention hearing.
The recording is one element of a broader collection of digital, physical and witness evidence that authorities say connects Duncan, 24, to both Sept. 25 deaths. Prosecutors told the court that deputies also recovered a revolver with three spent rounds, burned pants and a burned gas canister, while investigators obtained surveillance footage and statements from witnesses who reported seeing a man on fire leaving the area of the vehicle. Duncan faces two counts of first-degree murder and has been ordered held in the Peoria County Jail. He has not been convicted, and his lawyer disputes the state’s claim that the vehicle fire was intentionally started.
According to the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office, the cellphone recording captures a conversation between Wood and Duncan on the morning she died. Prosecutors say Wood can be heard telling Duncan to leave or she will call police. A brief struggle follows, according to the state’s description, and then three gunshots can be heard. Authorities have not publicly released a complete transcript, and the recording does not by itself provide a public, minute-by-minute account of everything that occurred that morning. Its significance will ultimately depend on how it is admitted, interpreted and weighed with the other evidence if the case reaches trial.
The number of shots described on the recording also figured in the physical evidence investigators reported recovering. Deputies said they found a revolver containing three spent rounds near the area, along with burned pants. Prosecutors have not publicly established through a trial that the recovered gun fired the shots that killed Wood, and the public reports reviewed do not provide a complete forensic analysis tying every item to Duncan. The state nevertheless included the revolver and clothing in its detention presentation as part of the circumstances it says support the two murder charges.
The vehicle evidence concerns a separate but closely connected allegation. Investigators found a burned gas canister on the passenger-side floor, according to prosecutors. Witnesses said they saw a man who appeared partially on fire running from the vehicle, while authorities said surveillance video showed the car burning internally. The state alleges Duncan started the fire with KJ Duncan-Wood still inside and then fled. Duncan’s attorney has challenged the claim of deliberate ignition, arguing that Duncan worked as a mechanic and had gasoline in the passenger area. That competing explanation means the fire’s origin is not merely a background detail but a disputed issue at the center of the second murder count.
The evidence was gathered after an emergency call that initially concerned a burning vehicle rather than a reported shooting. Peoria County sheriff’s deputies responded shortly after 6 a.m. to Yorkshire in Royal Oaks Estates near West Peoria. Investigators associated the vehicle with a nearby home and went to the residence for a welfare check. There they found Wood, 20, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She was taken to OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center and pronounced dead. Firefighters extinguishing the vehicle blaze found KJ inside. Two other children were located at the residence and were unharmed.
Autopsy findings established different causes of death for the mother and child. Peoria County Coroner Jamie Harwood said Wood died from multiple gunshot wounds. KJ suffered severe smoke inhalation from the vehicle fire and was pronounced dead at the scene. Harwood said the toddler likely died shortly after the blaze began. Those findings led investigators down two related tracks: determining who shot Wood and determining how the fire began. The first formal murder charge against Duncan concerned Wood. The state did not immediately charge him in KJ’s death while investigators continued working on the fire portion of the case.
Authorities began searching for Duncan after identifying him as a suspect. Several hours after the initial response, Peoria County sheriff’s deputies and Peoria police located him near Molleck Drive and Oak Crest Drive. Sheriff Chris Watkins said Duncan had a knife when he was taken into custody and had suffered serious burns. Instead of being booked directly into jail, Duncan was transported for medical treatment. His injuries required weeks of hospitalization and became an unusual procedural factor in the case, delaying hearings while his lawyers and the court monitored his ability to participate.
The investigation continued while Duncan was hospitalized. On Oct. 13, a grand jury indicted him on an additional first-degree murder count involving KJ. Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos said the new charge accused Duncan of causing the vehicle fire that resulted in his son’s death. The indictment meant prosecutors were formally alleging one course of conduct ending in two homicides, though the deaths occurred through different alleged acts. Duncan remained in law-enforcement custody at the hospital and was not able to proceed through the early court schedule in the same manner as a defendant already housed at the county jail.
Evidence about the relationship between Wood and Duncan has also entered the case. Prosecutors say Wood obtained an emergency order of protection against Duncan on Sept. 15, 10 days before the killings. After the order was served, Duncan contacted the sheriff’s office on Sept. 18, 19 and 20 to request deputies during custody exchanges with Wood. No law-enforcement standby was requested on Sept. 25, prosecutors said. One deputy’s familiarity with the earlier exchanges helped authorities connect the burning vehicle to Wood’s residence when the first emergency call came in. Watkins later characterized the deaths as resulting from domestic violence.
Duncan’s hospitalization continued through most of October. His lawyer told the court at one stage that Duncan was sedated and facing surgery, prompting further delays. He was eventually discharged from a Rockford burn unit on Oct. 30 and transferred to the Peoria County Jail. That transfer cleared the way for prosecutors to seek continued detention in a hearing where much of the evidence now publicly known about the case was described. Duncan appeared remotely and was using a wheelchair, according to local news coverage.
The detention proceeding also showed where the prosecution and defense are likely to clash as the case develops. Prosecutors presented the recording, recovered items, witness statements and protection-order history as evidence that Duncan posed a continuing safety risk and should remain jailed. The defense sought electronic monitoring and release to relatives, citing his medical needs. More importantly for the ultimate criminal case, Duncan’s lawyer directly disputed the state’s theory of an intentionally set fire by raising an alternative explanation for the gasoline in the vehicle. A detention hearing does not decide guilt, and the judge’s decision to keep Duncan jailed does not establish that either murder charge has been proved.
Associate Judge Vincent Cail ordered Duncan held pending further proceedings. The two-count prosecution exposes Duncan to severe potential penalties if he is convicted, with prosecutors saying convictions on both murder charges could require a life sentence. Those possible consequences remain contingent on future court findings. The prosecution must still establish each charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt, while the defense may challenge the cellphone evidence, firearms evidence, witness testimony, fire analysis and other material before trial.
The investigation remains open, and authorities have not publicly supplied every forensic result or a complete reconstruction of the morning. What has emerged since the initial deaths is a case increasingly built around the relationship between several pieces of evidence: a recording capturing an escalating encounter, three spent rounds in a recovered revolver, evidence from a burning vehicle, witnesses who reported seeing a man flee and a protection order obtained shortly before the killings. Whether those elements prove the state’s allegations will be determined through the court process.
The case has widened considerably since authorities first announced a murder charge in Wood’s death. A second indictment now accuses Duncan of killing KJ, while the cellphone recording, recovered firearm, surveillance evidence and fire-scene findings have given prosecutors a broader case to present. None of those allegations has been decided by a jury, and Duncan remains detained as the prosecution continues.
Author note: Last updated November 9, 2026.