WASHINGTON, Ill. — A Washington man has been charged with murder.
The Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office has charged Daniel Allbritton, 52, with three counts of murder in connection to the case of John Tyler Jr., who has been missing since Dec. 6.
Allbritton was arrested on Dec. 11 for Obstructing Justice charges. However, evidence gathered during the investigation led to the murder charges being filed.
According the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office, Tyler’s girlfriend dropped him off at the Par-A-Dice on the evening of Dec. 5, and he stayed the night at the Par-A-Dice hotel.
Allbritton stated that on the morning of Dec. 6, he received a phone call from Tyler around 9:00 requesting a ride.
He picked up Tyler from the Par-A-Dice around 10:00 a.m. and dropped him off at the Office Tap parking lot in Morton.
On Dec. 11, detectives conducted a search of Allbritton’s home and vehicle. Detectives had located blood on the outside and inside of his vehicle. Allbritton was interviewed again and his story was inconsistent with what he first told detectives.
In his second story, Allbritton said after picking up Tyler from the Par-A-Dice, the they arrived at Allbritton’s residence, then they drove to Kirk’s Corner Tap in East Peoria, where the pair had a verbal argument in the parking lot.
The argument caused Allbritton to grab Tyler’s head and strike it against the back door of Allbritton’s vehicle several times. He stated that Tyler “laughed it off”, and they drove to the Office Tap in Morton.
Later in the interview, Allbritton admitted that he had struck Tyler at his residence and that it was his fault.
Blood samples taken from Allbritton’s garage and vehicle contained DNA of Tyler.
The case remains under investigation.
