UPDATED 4:50 p.m. | Peoria Police say a man has been arrested in connection with the death of a Peoria woman whose body was foundThursday in East Peoria.
Authorities say Christopher J. Sanders, 42, was arrested in connection with the death of Mona Ellison on Thursday evening in the village of New Baden, Ill., 30 miles east of St. Louis.
He was transferred to the Peoria Police Department for an interview and subsequently arrested for first degree murder. He has been booked into the Peoria County Jail.
Ellison, 50, was reported missing Wednesday from the 3500 block of NE Brevis in Peoria after not having been seen in several days. Authorities located her body Thursday in a wooded area behind an East Peoria apartment complex in the 100 block of Woodrow Dr.
Tazewell County Coroner Charles Hanley identified the body as Ellison’s. Preliminary autopsy findings show the death was caused by blunt force trauma, Hanley said Saturday.
Detectives from the Peoria Police Criminal Investigations Division identified Sanders as a suspect and learned he was likely traveling to the St. Louis area. Authorities in the region were contacted and Sanders was apprehended at approximately 6:30 p.m.
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