2 found dead in Medford home

Two people were found dead in a Medford home Friday night in what many believed was a murder-suicide, but authorities haven’t confirmed anything – even to the family of one of the victims.
Steele County Sheriff Lon Thiele has refused to label the incident as anything other than a “suspicious incident” where two people died. Thiele has said there is no threat to the public.
On Monday, Thiele identified the victims of the incident as Chandra Lanae Pelch, 18, and Jerome Charles Caldwell, 19, both of Medford.
Few details of the incident have been released at the request of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), Thiele said.
“I know he was shot twice: Once in the chest and once in the head,” said Caldwell’s mother, Queen Lane. “I had to go to the coroner to find that out. The coroner told me that.”
The bodies of Pelch and Caldwell were taken to the Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office in Rochester where autopsies have been conducted, according to the family.
Lane was supposed to meet with the Steele County authorities on Tuesday, where she was to get a full report of the incident.
“I don’t want anybody saying anything bad about my son, because he wasn’t a bad person,” Lane said.
Caldwell was one of 12 children, falling right in the middle at number six, his mother said.
“He called it the best of both worlds,” she said. “The older sisters spoiled him, then he spoiled the little ones. He just took his younger brothers and sisters swimming at the hotel” last week, she said, her voice breaking.
“I can’t even grasp it,” Lane said. “We don’t expect stuff like this to happen.”
Caldwell had recently moved to Medford from Owatonna, and had just gotten his driver’s license and a new job.
He and Pelch have an 18-month-old son together. The shooting happened at Caldwell’s home, Lane said.
“I feel bad for both sides,” she said. “This is sad. Whatever happened is sad, and I don’t wish this on anybody.”
Sheriff’s deputies responded about 8:20 p.m. Friday to the 200 block of 1st Street N.W., which is located behind the Medford Municipal Liquor Store. When they arrived, they found Pelch and Caldwell dead inside the residence.
The sheriff’s office immediately requested assistance from the BCA, which responded to the scene with its mobile crime lab to process the crime scene.
Lane said she didn’t learn about the deaths until Saturday morning.
“We are still waiting on confirmation of a couple things before we can lay out everything that happened,” said Scott Hanson, chief deputy of the Sheriff’s Office. He added the BCA doesn’t want to do anything to “jeopardize the case.”