Girl's Death Ruled a Homicide

Peoria, IL – The death of a young McDonough County girl is now officially considered a homicide. An inquest into the death of five-year old Silven Yocum was held Thursday in Peoria. A coroner's jury ruled the death to be a homicide. McDononough County Sheriff Rick VanBrooker says the case is being aggressively investigated, but no one has been charged. Yocum was taken to McDonough District Hospital in September after her mother could not wake her. She was later airlifted to OSF St Francis Medical Center in Peoria, where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy found Yocum died from blunt force trauma to the back of the head.