Family gather outside St. Bernard Hospital / Photo by Jessica Koscielniak

BY JORDAN OWEN AND BECKY SCHLIKERMAN
Chicago Sun-Times

Brett Ewing was killed and a 4-year-old boy was hurt in a Tuesday afternoon shooting in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood.

Brett Ewing, 26, and the boy were in gray Dodge Avenger in the 200 block of West 72nd Street when a person exited a nearby vehicle and opened fire about 3 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

According to a police source, the shooter was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt and light blue jeans, and fired into the Dodge's rear passenger-side window, causing it to shatter.

Ewing suffered four gunshot wounds -- one in the back, two to the left side and one to the right side -- while the boy suffered a single gunshot wound to his wrist, authorities said.

A woman drove them to St. Bernard Hospital and Heath Care Center, a hospital spokesman said.

Ewing, of the 6800 block of South Perry Avenue, was transferred to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, where he died at 6:37 p.m., authorities said.

The boy suffered a “minor” wound to the wrist and was sent to University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital in "stable" condition, police and hospital officials said.

According to a police source, the 26-year-old was the shooter’s intended target. He has been arrested 24 times, with six resulting in convictions, including two for possessing an illegal firearm, the source said.

Outside the hospital, police placed yellow crime scene tape around a gray Dodge Avenger and an evidence technician examined the vehicle, though it wasn’t clear whether the vehicle was tied to the shooting.

BY JESSICA KOSCIELNIAK AND EMILY BROSIOUS
Homicide Watch Chicago

Carnesha Fort had the “heart of a lion”, her longtime boyfriend, Darnell "LA" Tubbs, said.

Tubbs, 22, knew he found love in Carnesha Fort. Love that was supposed to last a lifetime.

Fort, 22, was fatally shot at her home in the 100 block of North Keeler Avenue in the West Garfield Park community about 10:45 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Tubbs said Fort was home with her children when the gunman shot her in the bedroom.

“I think he brought that gun because he thought I was going to be there,” Tubbs said. “And him, as a man, to still pull a stunt and kill her ... Only a coward would do this to a woman.”

Nobody has been charged in the murder, and Tubbs refuses go back to the apartment or allow Fort's children back in their home.

For Mother's Day, Tubbs made Fort matching hooded sweatshirts that proclaimed his feelings: "LA loves (heart) Nesha"

In the days after Fort's murder, Tubbs' wore his sweatshirt proudly.

“She was my motivation,” Tubbs said. “Seeing her, every day getting up and going to work, smiling, coming home no matter what. And still having time to be there for her kids, to help them with their homework -- made me feel love.”

Fort worked for Hudson Concessions in a stockroom at O’Hare International Airport, but had dreams of going back to school to pursue a career as a pharmacist. Tubbs said Fort focused on advancing her career and doing right by her four young sons -- ages 3, 5, 7 and 8.

“They know she’s gone, but I don’t think they fully understand,” Tubbs said.

He plans to help raise Fort’s children, even though he is not their biological father. He wants to be a positive influence in their lives and doesn’t want her children falling victim to the violence that took their mother’s life.

“Youth are so at risk here,” Tubbs said. “Ain’t no structure. Poverty, drugs, money, ambition, hate, jealousy, envy ... It’s all about material things. It just consumes us."

Carnesha Fort / Family photo

Tubbs said he knew people in the community who were fatally shot after being consumed by those material things -- but he has never anyone as close to his heart.

“She loved me for me, you know? My flaws, everything ... I never experienced love like this before in my life,” Tubbs said. “In the end, it was so quickly, so bittersweet.”

Fort had just celebrated her birthday May 31 with a party at Club M & M, and she had planned a trip to Puerto Rico later this year, Tubbs said.

Now he is planning the funeral for the woman he called a "goddess"

“The whole world just spun. It was like heaven and Earth moved,” he said.

Prosecutors claim Frederick Woods-Rivas fatally shot 17-year-old Ja-Quez Williams April 26 in the 5500 block of West North Avenue. Reader " sosideirish" posted this about the killing:

I can't even imagine the pain of losing one of my grandsons, especially to street violence. I will never understand the need to murder one another when, as a group, working together, we could accomplish so much. Another young life lost so senselessly. Prayers for the friends and family of this young man.

BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago

South Side musician DeAngelo "Elloski" Russell would open his studio to young rappers who needed the equipment to make beats.

Russell, 33, was fatally shot while walking with a friend in the 2600 block of East 83rd Street in the South Chicago community about 10:15 p.m. May 31, authorities said.

Russell, of the 8200 block of South Marquette Avenue, was shot in the thigh, leg and arm, authorities said. His friend was not injured.

Earlier that day, Russell was consoled a neighborhood family after the death of a loved one. The group hung out on the porch, laughing and taking photos with DeAngelo Russell's camera, family said.

Russell's mother, Ernestine Russell, said her son was on the way to a corner store when he was shot.

"It's a shame and it's senseless," Ernestine Russell said. "They don't know the heartfelt pain that went through me, the chills that went through after what they'd done.

"Whoever you are, you know your heart. Turn yourself in. I'm not mad. I'm not angry at you, but you have to turn yourself in because God knows what you did and it will haunt you, and haunt you and haunt you."

DeAngelo Russell graduated from Bowen High School and later became a musician who spent hours in a home recording studio writing lyrics, making beats and playing music that could often be heard through an open window, family said.

The young rappers he mentored called him "The CEO."

When DeAngelo Russell went out with friends he always brought his camera, family said. He enjoyed photography, especially capturing faces and moments illustrating life in his community.

"He was as for real as for real can be," his mother said. "A man of music, the artist. He was my everything. He was like the backbone of the family that picked the family up. When no one was there, DeAngelo was there ... That was my baby and I loved him to death."

Byron Owens, a childhood friend who played basketball with DeAngelo Russell at a back-alley hoop they constructed from crates and a bike rim, described "Ello" as an angel who spoke life into the community.

"It's taken a toll on me to the point that I really don't even want to come outside," Owens said. "The block feels empty, like the heart that we had on the block, it's heartbroken ... What did he used to say, 'We're all we got.'"

For Owens, the things he will miss most about DeAngelo Russell include the way he greeted his friends with open arms, his unrelenting positivity and his encouragement of young artists.

DeAngelo Russell didn't have children of his own, but he had a fatherly way of looking out for his nieces and nephews, his cousin, Charles Curvin, said.

"He wanted his nieces and nephews to know right from wrong, good from bad, how to go up to a person and greet them," Curvin said. "Even his enemies, his haters loved him to a certain extent because he always had some type of idea that they wanted, so they knew they had to suck up their pride. He kept this block organized. He kept everybody."

DeAngelo Russell / Photo from Facebook

Curvin remembered how DeAngelo Russell would open his studio to any young rapper who needed the equipment to make beats. Before giving advice about rap music he would tell young artists to stay in school and read constantly so they could write worthwhile songs.

Hershey Harrington, a longtime friend who recorded several songs with DeAngelo Russell, said they would rap about life in neighborhood, getting rich, taking care of her children, love and home.

"He did his own thing," Harrington said. "He didn't wait for anyone else to do it for him. This is what he loved. Everybody loved him."

Dominique Hodrick / Photo from Chicago Police

Dominique Hodrick has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting 58-year-old Brooks special education teacher Betty Howard last month in the Chatham neighborhood.

Hodrick is accused of shooting Howard about 5:30 p.m. in the 7900 block of South Evans Avenue, authorities said.

Howard, of the 2200 block of South 14th Avenue in Broadview, was shot working her second job in her Chatham real estate office, her family said.

As a teacher at Brooks, Howard would travel to homes to teach disabled students — doing whatever it took to help some of the city’s most challenged youth, Brooks College Preparatory Academy Principal D’Andre Weaver said.

Howard, who taught at Brooks for seven years, even rode school buses to help out when school aides were absent, Weaver said.

Betty Howard/ Photo from Family

“It’s crazy, she wasn’t a thief, she didn’t harm anyone,” Long said, noting Howard’s brother, Orlando Long, is a police officer. “This isn’t how it was supposed to end for her.”

Hodrick, 33, of the 7900 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, police said.

A 23-year-old woman was also wounded in the shooting and Hodrick was charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, police said.

In 2011, Hodrick was charged with possession of a firearm and not having a Firearms Owner ID card. The gun charge was dropped. He pleaded guilty to the FOID charge and was sentenced two years of probation, which he completed on March 4, according to court records.

Hodrick is expected in bond court later Thursday.

-- Chicago Sun-Times staff

Prosecutors claim Jerome Lofton fatally shot Darrien Jordan during a fight in the North Lawndale neighborhood. Reader "Darrenisha Holman" posted this about the killing:

I can't believe he took my Lil Bro away from us we all miss him so much we can't take this..ppl need to learn how to fight before picking up a gun to shot someone he didn't deserve his life taking away from him

Andre Davis / Photo from Chicago Police

BY JORDAN OWEN
Sun-Times Media

A 53-year-old man who served 32 years in prison for murder and rape before being exonerated by DNA evidence in 2012 now faces new murder charges. Prosecutors accuse him of killing Jamal Harmon last year in a South Side alley.

Andre Davis was charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of felony kidnapping, police said. Davis, of the 8200 block of South Eberhart Avenue, was also wanted on two bond forfeiture warrants.

On Thursday, Davis appeared in court dressed in a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans to face the new murder chargers. Judge Adam Bourgeois ordered him held without bond.

Assistant State's Attorney Robert Mack said the events that led to the killing started when Harmon attended an Oct. 7, 2013, party hosted by Davis' nephew in the 6500 block of South Ross Avenue. During the party, Harmon and Davis' nephew got into an argument outside the home over money lost at a dice game, Mack said.

Davis’ nephew went back inside the house, then came out with a handgun and shot Harmon, Mack said. A witness said Harmon, 19, survived the shooting and was "making sounds," Mack said.

Davis and the witness then carried Harmon to the trunk of a Cadillac, Mack said, adding that Davis told others he was going to find a spot to dump Harmon and drove off.

Harmon’s body was discovered later that day in an alley in the 7600 block of South Carpenter Street, Mack said. He had been shot three times -- in the face, lower neck and left armpit. He had also been stabbed four times, authorities said.

An autopsy confirmed Harmon, of the 6700 block of South Parnell Avenue, died of multiple stab and gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The next day, Davis told someone he cut Harmon’s throat, Mack said.

Mack had previously been convicted of murder in 1980 for the August 1980 rape and murder of 3-year-old girl Brianna Stickle in downstate Rantoul. He spent more than 30 years in prison, but his conviction was overturned after new DNA evidence was found.

Prosecutors did not retry Davis, claiming it would have been too hard to bring a 32-year-old case to trial, and and he was released in July 2012.

Along with he 1980 murder conviction, Davis has also previously been charged with attempted murder, aggravated discharge of a weapon, and two counts of aggravated battery, according to court records. He currently faces two misdemeanor counts of DUI.

Davis will be back in court July 2.

-- Contributing: AP

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Dominique Hodrick had an ongoing dispute with a man nicknamed “Nookie,” so when Hodrick saw his rival driving in a car on the South Side he allegedly opened fire.

Hodrick missed “Nookie,” but he shot and killed veteran special education teacher Betty Howard in the chest while she worked her second job at Kale Reality in the 700 block of East 79th Street, Cook County prosecutors said.

A 58-year-old man who was also working at Kale Reality suffered a graze wound to his abdomen when the bullets went through the office wall in the May 29th shooting.

And a 23-year-old woman walking her dog outside was left with a graze wound to her hand, Assistant State’s Attorney Glen Runk said before Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. ordered Hodrick held without bond Thursday.

Hodrick, 23, was inside a building on the opposite side of 79th Street when he saw “Nookie,” Runk said.

He then opened the front door, pulled a handgun from his waist and started shooting, Runk said.

According to a police report, another offender was with Hodrick at the time.

Dominique Hodrick / Photo from Chicago Police

Howard, a 58-year-old special education teacher at Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory Academy, immediately fell to the floor when she was shot.

Hodrick went back into the building he was in after the shooting, Runk said.

He was caught on surveillance camera looking out the front door, opening the door and pulling out a weapon, Runk said.

Hodrick, of the 7900 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue, allegedly admitted he fired the shots and identified himself in the video stills.

He was also identified on tape by various police officers who had contact with him before.

Hodrick, who was arrested while riding in a car in Lansing Tuesday, was sentenced to two year’s probation in 2012 for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and for having a defaced firearm.

He has three previous misdemeanors for aggravated assault, reckless conduct, and criminal trespass to land. He will be back in court for the murder charge on July 1.

Following Thursday’s bond hearing Howard’s husband and niece said they were glad Hodrick was off the streets and behind bars.

Howard had only started working at the real estate office three to four months ago, Kristal Long, 34, said.

Betty Howard/ Photo from Family

She was trying to make “ends meet” and never felt as if she was in danger at the real estate office, Howard’s husband, Major Howard said.

Major Howard said his wife was a wonderful person who was “full of life” and “deserved to live.”

Long described her aunt as a “happy” and helpful person who was active in her church.

“If you can shoot a gun in broad daylight, with no regards for anyone out there, then absolutely, he [Hodrick] is a danger to society,” Long said.

“To know that she was at work. She was just trying doing her job and for something like this to happen, it makes it that much more harder to deal with.”

BY MICHAEL LANSU AND SCARLETT SWERDLOW
Homicide Watch Chicago

Chicago Police recorded about 1,335 murders from 2011 through 2013 – a majority in communities where residents have little education and money.

While low educational attainment and high levels of poverty are associated with murder rates, some Chicago communities buck the trend.

Of Chicago’s 77 communities, Austin has the most residents, and the most people living in poverty. It also had the most murders from 2011 through 2013 with 96.

However, just because a community has a higher percentage of residents living in poverty doesn’t necessarily mean it will have a high murder total.

The East Side and Logan Square communities both had poverty rates above the city average, yet each area had low homicide rates.

The East Side had only one murder from 2011 through 2013. Just north, the South Chicago community recorded 32 killings during the same time.

Similarly, the Logan Square community had only seven murders in the past three years, while just south the Humboldt Park and West Town communities had 53 and 17 slayings.

Educational attainment is also associated with murder rates, and communities with more college graduates tend to have fewer killings.

However, living in a community with a larger population of residents who never attended college doesn’t guarantee more homicides.

The tiny Montclare community, which shares a border with the violent Austin community, had zero murder from 2011 through 2013 despite having a larger than average percentage of the population who never finished high school.

The East Side, West Elsdon, West Ridge and West Lawn communities also have a low murder rate despite having a larger than average share of the population without a high school education.

Household income is also associated with murders, and of the communities with low homicide rates only the East Side has a mean income below the city average.

-- Get the data used in this analysis.

Damian Williams / Photo from Facebook

BY EMILY BROSIOUS
Homicide Watch Chicago

Damian Williams was killed in a Thursday night drive-by shooting in the Austin neighborhood that left another man critically injured.

Williams, 22, and two men were standing in front of a building in the 5700 bock of West Augusta Boulevard when a tan Lincoln MKZ drove by and someone inside fired several shots at 8:56 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.

Williams, of the 5900 block of West Augusta Boulevard, was shot multiple times in the chest and died at Mount Sinai Hospital less than an hour later, authorities said.

Williams was born and raised on the West Side and attended Fredrick Douglas High School, family said. He leaves behind a 1-year-old son.

“He wasn’t out in the streets getting into trouble,” his cousin, Tyrone Davis, said. “He was just hanging with the wrong crowd because he liked hanging out. He always tried to leave if things started up.”

One of the other men, 23, was shot in the chest and groin, police said. He was hospitalized at Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition, police said.

The third man was not injured.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating.

-- Contributing: Sun-Times Media Wire

Derrick Hilliard / Photo from Chicago Police

A second man has been charged with murder in the killing of Jamal Harmon last October on the South Side, police said.

Derrick A. Hilliard, 37, was charged with one count each of first-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, police said.

Hilliard is accused of killing Harmon, 19, on Oct. 7, 2013, authorities. Andre Davis was also charged for the murder this week.

Davis had served 32 years in prison for an unrelated rape and murder before being exonerated by DNA evidence in 2012.

The night of the killing, Harmon attended an Oct. 7, 2013, party hosted by Davis’ nephew in the 6500 block of South Ross Avenue. During the party, Harmon and Davis’ nephew got into an argument outside the home over money lost at a dice game, Mack said.

Davis’ nephew went back inside the house, then came out with a handgun and shot Harmon, Mack said. A witness said Harmon, 19, survived the shooting and was “making sounds,” Mack said.

Davis and the witness then carried Harmon to the trunk of a Cadillac, Mack said, adding that Davis told others he was going to find a spot to dump Harmon and drove off.

Harmon’s body was discovered later that day in an alley in the 7600 block of South Carpenter Street, Mack said. He had been shot three times — in the face, lower neck and left armpit. He had also been stabbed four times, authorities said.

An autopsy confirmed Harmon, of the 6700 block of South Parnell Avenue, died of multiple stab and gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The next day, Davis told someone he cut Harmon’s throat, Mack said.

Mack had previously been convicted of murder in 1980 for the August 1980 rape and murder of 3-year-old girl Brianna Stickle in downstate Rantoul. He spent more than 30 years in prison, but his conviction was overturned after new DNA evidence was found.

Andre Davis / Photo from Chicago Police

Prosecutors did not retry Davis, claiming it would have been too hard to bring a 32-year-old case to trial, and and he was released in July 2012.

Along with he 1980 murder conviction, Davis has also previously been charged with attempted murder, aggravated discharge of a weapon, and two counts of aggravated battery, according to court records. He currently faces two misdemeanor counts of DUI.

Hilliard, of the 8300 block of South King Drive, is expected in bond court Saturday. Davis will be back in court July 2.

— Contributing: AP

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Scene where Dewey Knox was fatally shot / Photo by NVP News Video

Dewey Knox was shot and killed Friday night in the North Lawndale neighborhood.

Knox, 27, was standing on a sidewalk in the 1300 block of South Central Park Avenue when a dark car drove past and someone inside opened fire about 11:55 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Knox, of the 1400 block of South Troy Street, was shot in the back and died at Mount Sinai Hospital at 12:22 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

Steven Douglas / Photo from Chicago Police

Steven Douglas has been charged with murder in the shooting death of Rico Lawrence last August in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, police said.

Lawrence, 43, was shot in the head outside his home in the 5100 block of South Winchester Avenue about 1:30 p.m. Aug. 30, 2013, authorities said. He died at the scene.

Douglas, 22, of the 200 block of North Kildare Avenue, was charged with murder and is expected to appear for a bond hearing later Saturday, police said.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Brandon Peterson was fatally shot early Sunday in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.

Peterson, 17, was standing with a group of people in the 3100 block of West Polk Street when he was shot in the head and lower left leg about 12:05 a.m., authorities said.

Peterson, of the 3000 block of West Polk Street, died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County at 12:26 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Louis Winn was stabbed to death during a domestic dispute Sunday night on the Far South Side.

Winn, 56, was stabbed in the chest at his home in the 10000 block of South Morgan Street about 9:10 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.

Winn died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn at 10:02 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

A female was taken into custody after the attack, but no charges have been filed as of early Monday, police said.

Area South detectives are investigating.

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Five men and three women were murdered throughout Chicago last week.

At least three of the deaths were classified as domestic related, police said.

The most recent killing happened when 56-year-old Louis Winn was stabbed during a domestic dispute at his home in the 10000 block of South Morgan Street about 9:10 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. He died less than an hour later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

On Saturday, 17-year-old Brandon Peterson was shot in the head and leg while standing with a group of people in the 3100 block of West Polk Street in the East Garfield Park neighborhood about 12:05 a.m., authorities said.

Peterson, of the 3000 block of West Polk Street, died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County a short time later, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

On Friday, 27-year-old Dewey Knox was shot during during a drive-by in the 1300 block of South Central Park Avenue about 11:55 p.m., authorities said.

Knox, of the 1400 block of South Troy Street, was shot in the back and died at Mount Sinai Hospital early Saturday, according to the medical examiner’s office.

On Thursday, 22-year-old Damian Williams was shot in the 5700 bock of West Augusta Boulevard in the Austin community about 8:55 p.m., authorities said. A 23-year-old man was also critically wounded.

Williams, of the 5900 block of West Augusta Boulevard, was shot multiple times in the chest and died at Mount Sinai Hospital less than an hour later, authorities said.

On Tuesday, 26-year-old Brett Ewing was shot while driving in the 200 block of West 72nd Street in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood about 3 p.m., authorities said. A 4-year-old boy was also wounded.

Ewing, of the 6800 block of South Perry Avenue, was shot four times and died at Stroger Hospital at 6:37 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

On Monday, 21-year-old Paris Brown was shot while sitting in a vehicle in the 7300 block of South Perry Avenue in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood about 10:55 p.m., authorities said. A man was also wounded in the shooting.

Brown, who lived on the block, was shot multiple times died at Stroger Hospital less than an hour later, authorities said.

The killings started when LaQuisha Hickman, 37, and Nicole Loving, 23, were fatally shot during a domestic dispute in the 3500 block of West 79th Place in the Ashburn community about 8:55 a.m. Monday, authorities said. An 18-year-old man was also wounded.

Hickman had filed a domestic battery report with Chicago Police officers against her longtime boyfriend Edward Prince following a quarrel the night before -- apparently over her ending their relationship, officials say. Prince, 36, left the house before police arrived, but returned the next morning and went on a shooting spree, authorities say.

Prince then turned the gun on himself and was dead on the scene.

Overall, the medical examiner’s office has ruled at least 172 Chicago deaths in 2014 a homicide — including seven people killed by police.

Additionally, the state’s attorney’s office filed first-degree murder charges against a speeding motorist who killed an off-duty police officer while trying to flee police even though the autopsy ruled the death an accident.

Chicago Police, which counts murders different, have ruled some of those homicides as involuntary manslaughter, justified self-defense or accidents.

Roosevelt High School student Nicholas Keener, 16, was fatally shot May 31 on the Northwest Side. Reader "In nicks memory" posted this about him:

Miss you nick..we all miss you home boy..RIP Nicky

Takia Lanza / Photo from Chicago Police

Takia Lanza has been charged with murder for allegedly stabbing her uncle during a domestic dispute Sunday night on the Far South Side, police said.

Lanza, 39, is accused of stabbing 56-year-old Louis Winn in the chest during an argument at his home in the 10000 block of South Morgan Street about 9:15 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

Winn, died at Advocate Christ Medical Center less than an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Lanza, who lives with her uncle, is scheduled to appear in bond court Tuesday, police said.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Andre Davis, 53, was charged with murder last week for his alleged role in the October 2013 murder of Jamal Harmon. Davis had spent 32 years in prison for murder and rape before being exonerated by DNA evidence in 2012. Reader Danita Johnson posted this about the case:

If this man is found guilty of this crime, this is such a disappointment. How can a person gain their freedom; then, not use their time out of incarceration to make their lives better? Life is really not that difficult to live. I know that he had to have received funding to get a better start in life other than getting caught up in a murder plan, plot and activity. I am seriously shaking my head at this. Condolences to the victim's family.

Takia Lanza / Photo from Chicago Police

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Eric O’Neil spent part of Father’s Day enjoying a beer on his longtime neighbor’s porch on the Far South Side.

Before the night was over, O’Neil’s friend, Louis Winn Jr.— a father and a grandfather — was stabbed to death in O’Neil’s car.

Cook County prosecutor Colleen Rogers said in court Tuesday that before the 56-year-old Winn was stabbed to death by his niece, she “reproached the victim about how he was spending his time” near their home in the 10400 block of South Morgan Street.

O’Neil told the Chicago Sun-Times Tuesday he didn’t know what started the fight but remembers the two getting into a physical altercation after Takia Lanza, his niece, punched Winn in the face.

“I wasn’t paying attention because I didn’t think it was serious,” O’Neil, 52, said.

O’Neil said Lanza, 39, also punched him inadvertently when he tried to break up the fight.

Eventually, Lanza went back inside the house, prosecutors said.

But when Winn got into O’Neil’s car, she allegedly came back outside out with a steak knife, reached inside the passenger side of the car and stabbed Winn repeatedly in the chest, prosecutors said.

“I thought she was punching him but then Louis told me, ‘Aww. She stabbed me’ and passed out,” O’Neil said.

O’Neil said he was able to get Winn out of the car and called 911.

But it was too late.

Winn was stabbed through the heart and had multiple defense wounds, Rogers said.

O’Neil said he was still recovering from the shock of watching his neighbor of roughly three decades die.

“Someone got murdered in my car and for what?” he said.

Lanza, mother of a seven-year-old boy, is charged with Winn’s murder and was ordered held in lieu of $2 million bail Tuesday.