A young couple from Wisconsin — Rachel Dumovich, 29, and Brandon Dumovich, 30 — were found dead inside their car along a rural Illinois roadway late Monday night, just one week before celebrating their first wedding anniversary. The Harvard Police Department confirmed that both victims had been fatally shot.
According to authorities, an officer on routine patrol discovered the vehicle just before midnight on October 6 along Route 14 northbound near Burbank Street in Harvard, Illinois. The car’s hazard lights were flashing, prompting the officer to stop and investigate. Inside the vehicle, Rachel was found in the driver’s seat and Brandon in the passenger seat — both unresponsive and suffering from gunshot wounds.
Police later recovered a firearm inside the vehicle and confirmed the couple’s identities through the McHenry County Coroner’s Office. Preliminary findings indicate that each victim sustained a single gunshot wound. While initial alerts advised residents to remain indoors due to a heavy police presence, investigators later stated there was “no ongoing threat to the community.”
The Dumoviches, residents of Sharon, Wisconsin, had married on October 12, 2024, after a lifelong friendship that blossomed into love. Their story, shared on their wedding website, described how Rachel and Brandon first met at age 12 in middle school. “I caught Brandon’s attention by stealing cologne from his locker and running away with it,” Rachel wrote in one post, reflecting on their playful beginnings.
After remaining friends for more than a decade, the two began dating in 2022. Brandon proposed the following summer at Big Cedar Lake in Slinger, Wisconsin, a cherished family getaway where Rachel had spent many childhood summers. Their love story had recently come full circle — a relationship built on friendship, humor, and shared memories.