Last week’s murder of a man near his Lincoln Park home was the tragic end of a botched, random robbery attempt, according to the picture painted by prosecutors as they charged a suburban woman with the crime on Friday.
Josalyn Fowler, 25, also called 911 moments after she murdered Kevin Patel and provided the operator with false information about which way the killer fled, prosecutors claim.
Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Pekara said in a court filing that video showed Patel, a 28-year-old actuary, carrying a backpack as he walked toward his home in the 800 block of West Lill around 9:28 p.m. on April 16.
Just steps from his front door, Fowler and her cousin approached Patel. Moments after passing him, Fowler and her cousin turned around, and video showed Fowler now had a gun in her hand, Pekara said.
She allegedly tried to grab Patel’s backpack from behind, but he pulled away and they briefly struggled for control of the bag before Patel stepped backwards, distancing himself from Fowler.
At that point, Fowler extended the gun in front of her and fired, striking Patel in the chest. A witness told police they heard a male voice tell Fowler that they had to get out of the area and they immediately ran east, toward Halsted Street.
But just one minute after the murder, Fowler used a phone registered in her name to call 911 about the shooting. She reported that someone had just been shot at Lill and Halsted by a gunman who ran west, the opposite direction from which she and her cousin actually ran, Pekara stated.
Detectives collected a series of videos that showed Fowler and her cousin traveling side by side to the Fullerton Red Line station, where they hopped the turnstile and waited several minutes for a southbound train to arrive, Pekara continued.
They exited the train at State-Lake, then walked a few blocks to a car, which they used to leave the area.
Investigators ran CTA images of Fowler through facial recognition software, which identified her as a possible match, Fowler said. From there, police linked her to the 911 call. Fowler’s cousin and several people who knew Fowler from high school allegedly identified her in surveillance images.
When the police arrested Fowler on Tuesday, they allegedly found a loaded .40-caliber handgun with an extended magazine in her backpack. Lab tests determined that the gun is the one that ejected the shell casing found at the murder scene, Pekara said.
Judge Mary Marubio detained Fowler during a court hearing on Friday. Fowler is charged with first-degree murder, murder during the commission of a forcible felony, and attempted armed robbery, CPD said.
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