The story at Pekin Times was highly biased. Because it obviously wasn't a suicide, and due to the location of the wound, the police are investigating it by the book - something which I agree with. The rumor mill started circulating and the Pekin Times added their own slant to the story. The other local papers were quite a lot more objective.
Everyone present in the house was held separately, questioned at length, and given GSR tests. Both of my cousins were questioned while still at the house by the sheriff's department for an hour and a half, then put in to squad cars and taken to the Pekin Justice Center, where they were held further. The younger boy was not allowed to see family members for 4 1/2 hours. The older son was held around 7 hours total. My aunt was questioned for about 3 hours.
Many neighbors watched the boys being loaded in to squad cars, and this has caused some crazy rumors to circulate - some of which have got back to the family's ears. Some people have been saying the boys were arrested for murder, others said my uncle was shot in the back of the head, and so on. It's all very ugly, and it is only making things worse on the family.
I was there, and helped to clean the scene - the house was sealed from the time they finished taking pictures, until the deputy cut the tape and I walked through the door. Based on what I saw, and the lay of things, it went down exactly as my aunt says; she was in the room when it happened. He stumbled, reached back to catch himself and hit the counter. It was a one in a million thing.