Berwyn father recalls moment triple murder suspect invaded his home, killed his dogs

BERWYN, Ill. (WLS) — ABC7 on Sunday night got the first look inside of a west suburban home where two dogs were shot and killed by a downstate murder suspect.

The gunman was later shot and killed by Berwyn police. The dogs’ owner, Scott Wishecoby, recounted the violent encounter that left his Berwyn home riddled with gunfire.

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The father and dog owner described Wednesday night as a fight for his and family’s lives as he came face-to-face with an armed home intruder who unleashed a barrage of bullets inside of his home, killing two of his beloved dogs.

“And he just started shooting at me. ‘Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop,'” Wishecoby said. “I wasn’t expecting to see a serial killer down there. I wasn’t expecting to see somebody who just murdered three people downstate.”

Despite his ongoing heartache, the season of giving decorates Wishecoby’s home, but ever since late Wednesday night, he is reminded that two of his canine partners were taken away from him.

“The emptiness is there, for sure,” Wishecoby said.

Wishecoby recalled the moment the wanted man kicked down his door.

“I heard a lot of thumping,” Wishecoby said. “I scream down there, ‘Is anybody down there? I’m going to let my dogs down there. Is anybody down there?'”

“And the dogs go down. They bark a little bit,” Wishecoby continued. “So, I come down and I see a laser. When I came around this corner here, that’s when I made eye contact with him. And then, he just started shooting, shooting, shooting right from that corner.”

That is when Wishecoby and his son ran away from who, police said, was 24-year-old Westchester man John Lyons, a suspect connected to a triple murder that happened 150 miles away.

The intruder then chased after him up the stairs.

“I was putting my weight, like this, you know? And he’s trying to force it open,” Wishecoby said.

Lyons fired shots through the wall before escaping out the basement door.

Moments later, Berwyn police shot and killed Lyons, but not before he left a litter without 8-year-old Pitbull Missy and her pup, Bear.

But that fateful night brought support from the community.

“The mayor had dropped off a Christmas box. It had all sorts of goodies in there for Christmas dinner,” Wishecoby said.

Wishecoby continued, “Love the family that you have and that you’re with, because you never know when.”

The Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force continues to lead the investigation into the officers’ use of force.