Man found dead, partially dismembered, after house fire on Chicago's West Side, sources say
Neighbors in the North Lawndale neighborhood in Chicago are shocked and confounded by what appears to be a grisly crime. A man was found dead inside a house that might have been set on fire intentionally Friday night. Sources said his body was partially dismembered.
Neighbors said they are scared and disturbed by what happened inside the home in the 2300 block of South Kirkland Avenue.
Firefighters responded to a fire in the home shortly before 9 p.m. Friday, when they came upon a crime scene in the basement.
Police sources said firefighters found a 68-year-old man dead inside the home, and he had been partially dismembered. An autopsy determined he died of gunshot wounds to the chest and neck, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office, and his death was ruled a homicide. His name has not yet been released.
"I'm frustrated, and I'm scared, and all of the above, because we don't know what happened," said one neighbor who asked to remain anonymous.
After 60 years on living on the same block, she's seen a lot, but nothing like this.
"We've never had a murder," she said.
The woman lives close to the house that was on fire, and was cooking when she heard glass breaking just before 9 p.m. Friday.
"I came to the window, and I saw … it was like Christmas, lit up, you know? Four fire trucks, and then I found out that you know it was a fire, but then my neighbor was down in the basement," she said. "You know, that's scary and spooky."
People on the block described the victim as friendly and neighborly.
"That's the scary part. Who killed him and why?" his neighbor said.
The fire was being investigated as possible arson. A few cans were carried away from the scene in a plastic bag on Saturday.
"I didn't sleep. It's crazy," the victim's neighbor said. "Nobody understands around here what happened."
Area 4 detectives were investigating.
