Two men are accused in a homicide in Macomb over the weekend.
Sean Hayes, 37, and Morgan Bearce, 24, both of Macomb, are each charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of obstruction of justice.
Both appeared via Zoom from the McDonough County jail during an initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon.
They remain in jail after Judge Nigel Graham denied pretrial release for both of them. They’re both due back in court on Aug. 18 for preliminary hearings.
During Tuesday’s hearing, prosecutors cited a Macomb police investigation, which found Hayes, Bearce, and Bryson Saddoris, 21, of Macomb were smoking methamphetamine in a bedroom of the house at 625 N. Randolph St. on Friday night and early Saturday.
Hayes said he wanted to speak with Saddoris in the kitchen, so the two left the bedroom. Bearce said he heard a shot a short time later, and found Saddoris on the kitchen floor with a shotgun wound to the head, according to police.
Bearce told investigators Saddoris was still breathing, and that Hayes coerced him into shooting Saddoris six more times with a revolver “to put him out of his misery.”
Prosecutors said the motive was unclear, but that Saddoris might have owed Hayes money.
Hayes and Bearce spent the next couple days trying to clean the house and destroy evidence, including by burning it in a backyard fire pit.
Hayes took photos of Saddoris’ body, wrapped in a sleeping bag and plastic, and showed it to others. They, in turn, alerted police on Sunday afternoon, who then started their investigation.
An autopsy on Tuesday in Springfield found projectiles in Saddoris’ head, upper chest, neck area, back, and abdomen. The autopsy determined the initial shot to the head and face would have proved fatal.
A neighbor reported Bearce came to their house at around 3 a.m. Saturday while it was pouring rain. Bearce was upset and stuttering, but left without explaining why he came over.
Police say the investigation is ongoing.
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