Sergio Ontiveros, the California man who died eight days after being punched and falling to the ground outside a Wrigleyville bar in January, succumbed to head and brain injuries he suffered in an assault, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His death has been ruled a homicide.
Ontiveros, 51, lived in Beverly Hills and is the father of a child with Tamla Robinson, the daughter of Motown singing legend Smokey Robinson, according to online tributes by his family and friends. The medical examiner previously listed his hometown as Victorville, Calif.
Police responded to a call of a person down and found Ontiveros lying in the 3500 block of North Clark around 1:20 a.m. on January 17, Officer Steve Rusanov told CWB Chicago on the day of the incident. A witness told the officers that an offender punched Ontiveros, according to Rusanov.
Officers in the Town Hall (19th) Police District’s surveillance operations center located footage that showed an apparent fight breaking out and Ontiveros being pushed to the ground, according to CPD radio traffic. The offenders then ran from the scene, the camera operators said.
After Ontiveros was down, other people came by, picked through his pockets, and left the area before cops arrived, the officers said.
Ontiveros was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries on January 25, according to the medical examiner.
“He easily lit up any room he walked into and his presence never went unnoticed,” said a GoFundMe established by a family friend to offset hospital bills and other expenses. “His big personality touched the hearts of many people, from his humor to the love he had for his kids.”
Ontiveros’ daughter with Tamla Robinson, Lyric Ontiveros, posted a tribute to her father on Instagram shortly after his death.
“I will forever and always be daddy’s little girl,” she wrote. “I love you and miss you so much more as each day passes.”
Area Three detectives have been investigating the case.
Ontiveros was the first person murdered on Wrigleyville’s famed Clark Street bar strip since 2004, according to city records. Two months after his death, another man was shot and killed during an apparent robbery behind a restaurant about one block south on Clark.
Police have announced no arrests in either crime.
