Man arrested in Du Quoin deaths

DU QUOIN, Ill. -- A Maine man is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of a 26-year-old woman and her 6-year-old daughter -- the first such killings in this Southern Illinois city since 1996, officials said Wednesday.

Sheila Sims and first-grader Erika Sims were found dead in their home at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, Du Quoin police chief Ken DeMent said.

DeMent said autopsies were being conducted.

Sims' 16-month-old son, whose name was not released, was found unharmed in the apartment and is now in the care of relatives, DeMent said.

The investigation quickly led to a Portland, Maine, man who neighbors say had been staying with Sims and her two children for about a month before the bodies were found.