Update 5:30 p.m. — Detectives are now questioning a person of interest, police said this afternoon.
The possibly homeless man who fatally stabbed a Maryland woman in the Loop over the weekend has viciously attacked at least two other women in the Loop this month, according to CPD reports and a community alert from Area Three detectives. One of the other victims was beaten so badly, fire department personnel initially believed she had been shot in the head.
Yet, despite apparently knowing who the offender is and publicly stating that investigators have good images of the man, police did not release a single photo of the suspect to help the public identify him.
“We know who he is. We’ve got good film of him,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.
Anat Kimchi, 31, a criminal justice doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland, was fatally stabbed around 3:35 p.m. Saturday by a man who attacked her from behind with a knife on the 400 block of South Wacker, according to authorities. Kimchi, who was stabbed three times, died a short time later. Police later said the offender appears to be a man who lives in a homeless camp near the attack site.
Now, police say the man attacked two other victims from behind this month. But those victims were beaten with an object, not stabbed, according to an alert issued by detectives Thursday morning. CWBChicago has learned both of the other victims were women.
Around 9:30 p.m. on June 10, witnesses reported seeing a man striking a woman on the 500 block of South Franklin. A fire department crew that arrived at the scene summoned police because they thought the woman’s injuries were so severe, they thought she had been shot in the head, according to city records.
Police say she was actually struck with an object. The woman, age 25, suffered a head injury and was badly injured. Witnesses said the attacker fled westbound after the assault.
Investigators believe the man struck again around 7:14 a.m. on Sunday, June 13. In that case, a 50-year-old guest of the Congress Hotel was attacked as she walked on the first block of East Ida B. Wells Drive. The woman was bleeding from her face when police and fire department workers met the women in the hotel lobby. Investigators believe the man also struck her with an object after approaching her from behind.
While witnesses to Sunday’s stabbing reported that the offender had long dreadlocks, that may not be the case, according to CPD’s alert and descriptions of the offender given by witnesses to the earlier attacks. For example, the Congress Hotel guest said the attacker had short hair, according to a police report.
Police on Thursday said he is a Black male in his 30’s who may be homeless. He stands 5’9” to 5’11” tall and has “either dread style hair or [is] wearing a bandana that may look like dreads,” the alert said.
Anyone with information about the man can contact Area Three detectives at 312-744-8261 regarding case JE-272078.