'They were really good people': Couple found dead in Highland Park apartment; son charged with murder

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- A man has been charged with murder after his parents were found stabbed to death Wednesday morning inside an apartment in north suburban Highland Park.

Highland Park Police said emergency personnel responding to a wellness check at an apartment at 1850 Green Bay Rd. saw blood under the door of an apartment, and forced their way inside.

As CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reported, once inside, officers found the bodies of two dead people. A "person of interest" also was inside and was taken into custody. The victims have been identified as 79-year-old Ronald Goldberg and 74-year-old Renee Goldberg, both of Highland Park. Autopsies determined both died from multiple sharp force injuries.

The person of interest – Barry Goldberg, 45 – was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Lake County prosecutors confirmed he is the victims' son. His bail was set at $5 million at a bond hearing Thursday afternoon. 

It his hard for the community, now dealing with more loss months after the July 4th parade shooting.

"It's just a hard day and it's hard for Highland Park to go through something else like this," said Mindy Kirsch.

A wellness check led police to the doorstep of Kirsch's longtime friends -- a couple she and her husband have known for 40 years.

"They were really good people," Kirsch said. "They were really nice down-to-earth people."

Police found blood under one of the apartment doors and forced their way into the unit inside the Albion Highland Park complex.

Inside, they found two people dead and another person who was taken into custody. Kirsch said the couple moved in last year and was living with their youngest son.

"We just kind of knew. We had a gut feeling,: she said.

For Kirsch, she said she's still in shock after losing two of her closest friends, and  now her community is facing more violence just two months after the Highland Park Parade tragedy. This latest incident is around the corner from the intersection where that shooting happened.

"My kids called me right away to make sure we were okay. We were still trying to heal here and now its going to be a lot more healing. Never would have thought all these things would happen," Kirsch said. The investigation, including a possible motive, is ongoing.