Migrant teenagers charged in fatal stabbing of homeless man in Chicago
A trio of migrant teenagers were charged in the fatal stabbing of a 49-year-old homeless man in Chicago over the weekend, according to officials.
Wuinayker Rodriguez-Vasquez, 16, was charged as an adult with first-degree murder in connection with the incident that happened on Sunday morning, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. He appeared on Tuesday for a detention hearing, in which a judge ordered him to be held pre-trial.
Two 14-year-olds were also charged — one was charged with first-degree murder and the other was charged with armed robbery. The two 14-year-olds appeared in juvenile court on Monday and were ordered held in custody.
Officials said the victim did not know any of the suspects.
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All three suspects are reportedly from Venezuela.
The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News that records show Rodriguez-Vazquez is believed to have crossed into the U.S. in September 2023 near Eagle Pass, Texas. He was arrested and released at the time along with his mother.
Assistant State’s Attorney Todd Kleist also said in a court filing in the stabbing case that Rodriguez-Vasquez’s contact with Texas law enforcement in 2023 was documented as an “alien inadmissibility” case.
Rodriguez-Vasquez has no prior criminal history in Illinois, according to Kleist.
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Prosecutors said the stabbing attack happened at around 5:45 a.m. on Sunday in the Chicago Loop, where the victim was sleeping near his cat and belongings, including a skeleton mask.
A group that included Rodriguez-Vasquez and the two 14-year-olds allegedly approached the victim while Rodriguez-Vasquez had a knife hidden in his sleeve and another teenager held a metal rod, according to prosecutors.
One of the teenagers grabbed the victim’s mask and ran. When the victim stood up, Rodriguez-Vasquez allegedly kicked him, prosecutors said. One of the 14-year-olds allegedly struck the victim, and Rodriguez-Vasquez is accused of stabbing him in the back, causing him to collapse.
The attack was captured on surveillance video.
The victim was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner ruled the cause of death a stab wound to the back and the manner of death a homicide.
Police later detained the teenagers after spotting people on camera wearing the same clothing seen in surveillance footage. Rodriguez-Vasquez was found with a knife, and he was later identified by his mother and another member of the group.
Prosecutors said Rodriguez-Vasquez was seen in stills from after the incident “displaying a knife to the group, making stabbing motions, and wearing the victim’s skeleton mask on his head.”
A Chicago police source told Fox News this was an especially heinous and cruel murder of an innocent homeless man, saying that it was a “mob style” attack in which some of the suspects were laughing afterward.
Fox News’ Patrick McGovern and Mathew Finn contributed to this report.
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