DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick announced today that a Florida man is charged with murdering his half-brother on Christmas day. Kendall Yarborough, 28 (d.o.b. 12/29/1994) of Palm Harbor, appeared in First Appearance Court this morning where the Court granted the defendant’s motion to continue Yarborough’s pre-trial detention hearing until tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m. Yarborough is charged with two counts of First Degree Murder.
On December 25, 2023, at approximately 3:06 p.m., DuPage County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call of an individual who had been shot at an unincorporated Naperville home located in the 25W0-100 block of Wood Court. Upon their arrival, deputies found the victim, James Watson, inside the home with a gunshot to the abdomen. Watson was immediately transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased by medical staff. Following an investigation into the shooting, it is alleged Watson, who was downstairs, was upset that he could not find his cell phone and slammed a card table on the floor at which time Yarborough, who was upstairs, shot down towards Watson striking him in the abdomen. After the shooting, family members immediately called 9-1-1 and rendered aid to Watson. When processing the scene, authorities found a 9mm Sig Sauer P-365X handgun and one spent 9mm bullet casing. Yarborough was taken into custody from the residence without incident.
“On Christmas day, James Watson lost his life after his half-brother, Kendall Yarborough allegedly shot him in the abdomen while James was looking for his cell phone,” Berlin said. “This senseless act of violence will not go unpunished. To James’ family and friends, I offer my sincere condolences and wish them strength as they mourn the loss of a family member and come to terms with another family member accused of his murder. I thank DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick and his office for their work on this sad case. I also thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Robert Willis, Helen Kapas and Michael Paup, for their work in securing charges against Mr. Yarborough.”
“It is horrible that a tragedy occurred on Christmas,” Mendrick said. “It goes to show that domestic violence can occur in any home and that’s why we take domestic related incidents seriously at the DuPage County Sheriff's Office. Thank you for all the hard work from first responders and State’s Attorney Bob Berlin’s office for handling this serious crime during their Christmas holiday.”
Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendant’s guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
