Suspect charged nearly a decade after 13-year-old’s human remains were found behind home, police say
Keith Brackett was taken into custody Wednesday morning and faces multiple counts of first-degree murder in the disappearance of Robert Bee, Pekin police said.Bee went missing on Nov. 18, 2016. His mother, Lisa, reported him missing and said he was last seen the day before.
Officers learned the boy was friends with Brackett despite the age difference, and that Bee would skip school and sometimes stay overnight at Brackett’s home.Brackett learned Bee was missing the morning after ‘partying’ with the 13-year-old’s mother, police said.Brackett also searched for the boy and called out for him, but heard no reply.
Following the brief search, Brackett left town with a friend to drive the friend to a job interview.Police said the remains of Robert Bee Jr. were found in July 2017 behind a house owned by Brackett’s aunt.
Detectives then interviewed the property owner of the home where the skeletal remains were found, and she told police it was maintained by her nephew, who was Brackett.She also said Brackett was living in a home she owned nearby.When officers searched that home, they found rope outside the building that looked like the same material and color as the rope found near the remains. Asearch warrant revealed more rope and some tape inside matching that which was found at the crime scene.
