Robert Udrow / Photo from Facebook
BY WILL HAGER
Homicide Watch Chicago
Jefferson Park resident Robert Udrow often took in stray animals and nurtured them back to health, family said.
Udrow, 34, was fatally shot Friday morning in the 8000 block of South Sangamon Street, authorities said.
Udrow grew up in Edgewater and enjoyed spending time along the lakefront, said his aunt, Megan Fernandez.
She described Udrow as a “gentle” man who enjoyed animals and computers. He studied computer programming during a stint at Harold Washington College and hoped to work with computers professionally.
“He didn’t get a chance to reach his dream,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez, who last saw Udrow when he visited her at work around Valentine’s Day, said her nephew struggled with mental illness and often used drugs to cope.
“He struggled with being bipolar and getting a job,” Fernandez said. “He did a lot of self-medicating to deal with it.”
Fernandez said police suspect Udrow was killed during a robbery. Police initially said he was shot in the chest and legs just after 9 a.m.
Udrow, of the 5300 block of North Linder Avenue, died about two hours later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Nobody has been charged in the murder. Area South detectives continue to investigate.