MAHOMET -- Minutes before she and two family members were fatally shot Wednesday night, a Mahomet woman described the man thought to be the killer in a social-media post.
On am X (formerly Twitter) account where she shared occasional selfies, life updates and memes, Sara Mason, 26, posted about a man in a motorcycle helmet being outside her home the night of Wednesday, Dec. 18, less than 20 minutes before police were called to the scene.
"Trying not to be scared suburban white woman about the dude waiting outside of my house for a .... While now? Wanting to speak to my brother while wearing a motorcycle helmet (drive in a car)," she posted at 9:22 p.m.
Within a minute, she added, "He like left but will probably be back. Anyway."
Mahomet police were called at 9:41 p.m. to the residence on Riverside Court, where they discovered Mason, who was pronounced dead at the scene; and her mother, 61-year-old Janis Mason, and brother, 23-year-old Caleb Mason, who both died a little later after being taken to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana.
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It does not appear that Sara Mason recognized John R. Lyons, 24, the man police suspect in the triple homicide. Lyons fled to suburban Chicago, where he was killed in a confrontation with police in Berwyn.
Champaign County court records indicate that in June, Lyons filed a lawsuit alleging Caleb Mason had harmed him in some way and requesting compensation in an amount between $15,000 and $50,000. Mahomet police Chief Mike Metzler said Lyons knew one of the victims.
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Police reports thus far have not included details about whether Lyons was wearing a motorcycle helmet.
However, on Thursday, Dec. 19, far-right political pundit and streamer Nicholas Fuentes posted that an armed individual who arrived at his house late Wednesday night wearing a motorcycle helmet had "committed a triple homicide in southern Illinois."
"Last night an armed killer made an attempt on my life at my home, which was recently doxed on this platform," Fuentes wrote.
He said the killer broke into his neighbor's home in Berwyn, where police said Lyons broke in and killed two dogs while attempting to evade arrest.
Fuentes posted multiple clips of footage from Ring security cameras that show a man in brown pants, a blue coat and a white motorcycle helmet who is carrying a firearm and crossbow.
In the footage, the man gets out of a car while wearing a motorcycle helmet and appears to ring the doorbell and knock on the front door, then attempt to gain access through multiple entry points.
The only audio in any of the clips is while the man is at the front door and apparently says "Yo, Nick."
Timestamps on footage Fuentes posted indicate the events around his home in Berwyn beginning at 11:29 p.m., about one hour and 50 minutes after police were called to the home in Mahomet. About 10 minutes later, at 11:38 p.m., Berwyn police responded to a report of a man with a gun.
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