CHICAGO (STMW) — Two men have been charged with a stabbing that left a 20-year-old woman dead and a 19-year-old man hurt during a melee Monday afternoon in the North Side Lincoln Square neighborhood.

Raymond Boyle, 21; and Dalton Stropes, 20, are each charged with two counts of murder, one count of mob action, and one count of aggravated battery with a weapon, all felonies, according to Chicago Police.

The fight happened about 3:30 p.m. Monday in the 2100 block of West Windsor Avenue, police said. One of the men, armed with a knife, stabbed 20-year-old Angelica Escamilla, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. A 19-year-old man was also beaten.

Escamilla, of the 4200 block of North Lincoln Avenue, was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 4:20 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

An autopsy found she died of a stab wound to the chest and her death was ruled a homicide.

Police initially said the attack was domestic-related. No motive was provided Thursday morning.

Boyle, of the 1500 block of North Pulaski Road; and Stropes, of the 2000 block of West Arthur Avenue, are scheduled to appear in bond court Thursday.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

HILLSBORO, Mo. (AP) — A 35-year-old man serving life sentences for six Illinois slayings wants to move a murder trial that could lead to his execution to another place in Missouri.

In his request for a venue change, Nicholas Sheley said he can’t get a fair trial in Jefferson County south of St. Louis, where prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if he’s convicted in the killings of Jill and Tom Estes of Sherwood, Arkansas. Police say the couple was attacked outside a Festus hotel after leaving a 2008 graduation party.

Sheley was scheduled to make his first Missouri court appearance Monday, but his arraignment was postponed after the judge stepped down at Sheley’s request.

Court records don’t indicate why Circuit Judge Mark Stoll withdrew, but under Missouri law Sheley didn’t have to explain why he asked. His petition was filed within the 10-day deadline for such requests.

His St. Louis-based public defender, who has previously cited office policy in declining to discuss the case, could not be reached for comment Monday. Jefferson County prosecutors also were not available.

Sheley was extradited to Missouri in February from Illinois, where he was found guilty in a string of killings that began in his Illinois hometown of Sterling.

Four victims who had been bludgeoned with a hammer were found in a Rock Falls apartment. They ranged in age from 2 years to 29. The other victims were a 65-year-old man whose body was found behind a Galesburg grocery store in northwestern Illinois and a 93-year-old man killed in Sterling

Unlike in Illinois, offenders can be sentenced to death in neighboring Missouri. A June court filing outlining the state’s decision to pursue the death penalty cites Sheley’s convictions in the six Illinois killings as well as three other aggravating circumstances, including his attempt to rob the Arkansas couple while committing an “outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman” killing.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

CHICAGO (CBS) — Outspoken anti-violence activist Rev. Michael Pfleger said Chicago’s mayor and police superintendent might have gone too far in the past couple days, in their criticism of the father of a 7-year-old boy who was slain over the July 4th weekend.

Amari Brown was killed Saturday night in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, after watching fireworks with his family. He was with his dad, standing outside a building in the 1100 block of North Harding shortly before midnight, when gunfire erupted.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Police Supt. Garry McCarthy have made much of the fact Amari’s father, Antonio Brown, has a lengthy arrest record, is a “ranking” gang member, and was the likely target of the bullets that killed his son, and has not been cooperating with police.

“I understand their frustration. This guy’s got a record. He should have been kept in jail … I understand all of that,” Pfleger said.

However, Pfleger said Emanuel and McCarthy need to be more careful not to cross the line.

“Waving records of a rap sheet out – as a young brother said to me last night, ‘This is why I don’t talk to the police. You see, they just put you out there,’” he said. “I’m not defending the father. I’m just saying that I think we can go too far in our accusations, and our condemnation; you know, because we have to watch, because what it can do is, it’s bigger than this case, because it can send a message, then, like that brother told me last night, ‘This is why I don’t talk to police.’”

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Pfleger said it might be counterproductive for authorities to criticize Amari’s father for not providing information to police, and to put out details of his arrest record.

“Certainly that man is never going to talk to the police now. If you put him out there on Front Street that he’s the reason, as the young brother told me, ‘He’s got to do something now, because his name is at stake. They’ve said that you’re the reason your child is dead, so he’s going to feel like he’s got to retaliate now,’” Pfleger said.

So far, there have been no arrests in Amari’s death.

CHICAGO (CBS) — A 21-year-old man has been charged in the death of a toddler who was struck and killed by a vehicle fleeing the scene of a fatal shooting this weekend.

Antoine Watkins is charged with murder and fleeing police. He was ordered held without bond at a hearing on Monday.

The child’s mother and other family members attended the bond hearing for Watkins today, but had to leave the courtroom after she screamed “you killed him.”

A memorial marks the spot where 13-month-old Dillan Harris was struck and killed Saturday afternoon, while he was waiting at a bus stop, strapped into a stroller, near 63rd and Ellis.

Shortly after the crash, Watkins and another man were taken into custody in that area. Police said Watkins and the other man were suspected in the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Melvin Carr, about three miles away from where Dillan was struck.

Carr, a rapper known as Capo, is also a known associate of rapper Chief Keef, and is a member of his Glo Gang. He had recently returned from a recording session in Los Angeles, when he was shot in an apparent drive-by in the 7700 block of South Kingston on Saturday.

Police said Watkins and the other man were fleeing the scene of that shooting when they struck Dillan as he and his mother were waiting for a bus. Watkins allegedly was driving the car that struck and killed Dillan.

So far Watkins has not been charged in connection with the shooting of Carr, but he and the other man were still being questioned in connection with that killing as of Monday morning.

Keef is now living on the West Coast, but planned to hold a benefit concert to raise money for Dillan’s family. He will appear via hologram, rather than in person, due to outstanding arrest warrants that members of his legal team say limit his movement.

“I would much rather see him decide that he’s not going to do anymore music glorifying violence and guns in the city or in the country,” said Father Michael Pfleger.

CHICAGO (STMW) — A northwest Indiana man has been charged with a gang-related killing in Hammond last year, and prosecutors say his mother threatened a witness on Thursday.

Anton James, 19, faces murder charges for the Oct. 28, 2014 slaying of Martin Hurtado Sr., according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Northern District of Indiana.

James, a member of the Latin Kings street gang, mistook the 45-year-old Hurtado Sr. for his son Martin Hurtado Jr., a rival gang member, federal prosecutors allege.

About 9:20 p.m. that night, James shot the man once in the shoulder while he was in his backyard working on a car in the 800 block of South State Street, Hammond police said at the time. He died at a hospital that night.

About 9:20 a.m. Thursday—the day of James’ court appearance—his mother Dalia Guerrero told a witness she knew what the person looked like, where they live and “to watch their back” in order to influence their testimony, prosecutors said.

Guerrero, a 39-year-old Merrilllville resident, was arrested about noon, prosecutors said.

Hammond police and the FBI are investigating.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

(STMW) — A 22-year-old man will appear in court Saturday after confessing to strangling his sister and another woman at a Northwest Side home last October before setting the house on fire, authorities said.

Adam Ruiz, whose last address was in Denver, Colo., was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated arson while knowing someone is present, Chicago Police said.

Adam Ruiz | Chicago Police Department

Ruiz was arrested on Thursday in Denver after he called authorities and admitted to committing the murders, police said. Detectives went to Denver and interviewed him before arresting him and bringing him back to Chicago, a law enforcement source said.

The source added that detectives have identified one of the victims as Ruiz’s sister.

On the night of the fire on Oct. 16, 2014, fire and police officials found the bodies of two women at a home in the 4500 block of West Parker Avenue, authorities said. They were identified as 22-year-old Celiacruz Reyes and 28-year-old Samantha Welch, but police said the women were both 18.

At the time, autopsies for both women came back pending further police and fire investigation. But on Saturday, police said authorities had determined the women were strangled, and a fire was set to cover up the murders.

It was not known which woman was Ruiz’s sister. Reyes lived in the 100 block of Birch Street in Carpentersville, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said at the time. Welch’s address wasn’t known.

The source said Ruiz may have previously lived in Chicago since he was arrested for retail theft in 2007.

Ruiz was scheduled to appear in bond court on Saturday.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

UPDATE: 3:17 p.m.

CHICAGO (CBS) — A horrifying discovery in a Chatham neighborhood home left family and friends grieving, and in disbelief, after a woman and her three sons were found dead, deaths being investigated as homicides.

Neighbors, friends, and relatives of 28-year-old Latoya Jackson and her three boys gathered to remember the victims on Sunday. Signs, candles, and flowers covered the front porch of their home in the 8300 block of South Drexel Avenue, where authorities found the four bodies Saturday night.

Friends said it wasn’t uncommon for Jackson to go several days, or even weeks, without speaking to them.

“Be weird, but Latoya sometimes didn’t want to be bothered. She would turn her phone off, or get it cut off; you know, just stay to herself sometime, so it wasn’t really out of the ordinary,” April Bussell said.

Eventually, someone close to the family did find it odd they hadn’t heard from Jackson, and called police to check on her. Around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, authorities discovered the decomposing bodies of Jackson and her three sons – Andrew Simms Jr., 11; Cameron Jackson, 9; and 5-year-old Cantrell, whose last name is not yet known – inside their home.

The uncanny smell from the home had neighbors cupping their faces long after the bodies were removed. Neighbors said they had noticed the smell before, but assumed it was a dead animal.

One neighbor said he heard Jackson arguing with her boyfriend a couple times in the months since she moved in, and called police when he noticed he hadn’t seen her or her sons in a while, and noticed the stench around the home getting stronger.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office conducted autopsies on all four victims, but the manners of death are pending further investigation. Their family said they have been told all four were murdered.

“I think this is an act of domestic violence. I do not think no one walked off the street and hurt her and these kids. This is personal. Someone she trusted with her life and these kids did this to her,” Bussell said.

Leon Ervin’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing after his daughter-in-law and three grandchildren were found dead.

“I don’t know how they died. All I know is all four of them is dead,” he said. “I’m granddaddy. All of them called me granddad.”

Ervin said his son, Andrew Simms Sr., was murdered a decade ago, a crime still unsolved to this day.

“I’m devastated, man. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to say,” he said.

Jackson’s friends cried as they talked about her, calling her a good mother, who was always fun and outgoing. They said she grew up in nearby Avalon Park with her grandparents, and moved to the Chatham home with her sons a few months ago.

A fire official said there was evidence of a fire inside the home, but no fire damage was visible from outside.

CHICAGO (CBS) — A 20-year-old man dubbed “Harvey’s Most Wanted Criminal” was taken into custody Friday, charged with murder and attempted murder in a shooting that killed a teenager and wounded his mother.

Harvey police officers escorted Earl Truss into the Harvey police station in a perp walk, his hands cuffed behind his back. Truss frowned as he was led inside.

“It is a great burden off of our shoulders, as law enforcement, to have a person of this stature placed where he should be,” Harvey Police Chief Denard Eaves said.

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On May 30, Truss allegedly shot and killed 17-year-old Juwan Benson, and critically wounded the teen’s mother, LaShieka Coleman at a gas station near Wood Street and Sibley Boulevard. Witnesses said Benson had gotten into an argument with Truss at the entrance, and Truss later shot the teen from the doorway.

“I’m so happy. No amount of money, or anything, can replace this feeling that I feel right now; knowing that he is in custody,” Coleman said. “It was a sense of peace. A weight has been lifted from me.”

She was shot four times, and still has the bullet that killed her son lodged in her neck. Coleman said it serves as a constant reminder.

Police said civilian tips led investigators to Truss.

(CBS) — A 12-year-old girl from Elkhart, Indiana is being held in juvenile detention accused of murdering her stepmother, reports WBBM’s Mike Krauser.

A neighbor in the apartment complex where the crime occurred said the girl had anger issues, but nothing to suggest she would allegedly stab her step-mother to death.

According to Elkhart Police Sergeant Chris Snyder, 50-year-old Maria Torres was stabbed to death after the girl set fire to her bedroom.

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“When they got there, they found a scene I don’t think they were expecting,” Snyder said.

Firefighters found Torres stabbed to death and her husband, the girl’s father, also stabbed and suffering from non-life threatening wounds after he tried to intervene, Snyder said.

Neighbor Denny Gallo-Lopez told WSBT she was shocked.

“Never would’ve thought it would’ve happened to them,” she said. “The Torres family is really gentle, kind people.”

The girl ran from the scene and was picked up by police nearby.

(STMW) — A man has been charged with the murder of his 10-month-old niece, who died five days after being rushed to a hospital last month in west suburban Berwyn.

Jose Giancarlo Difatta-Perez, 31, was charged Monday with first-degree murder for the death of a 10-month-old Giselle Estaphanie Cuellar, according to a statement from Berwyn police.

Giselle began having trouble breathing at Difatta-Perez’s home in the 1200 block of Cuyler Avenue in Berwyn on July 18, according to police.

Her mother took her to the emergency room at MacNeal Hospital, where doctors learned she had suffered trauma to the brain, and was bleeding from “non-accidental trauma,” police said.

She was transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where she underwent surgery, but died at 12:09 a.m. on July 23. An autopsy at the time did not rule on cause and manner of death pending further studies.

Police said the baby lived in the 1300 block of 58th Avenue in Cicero.

The Illinois Department of Child and Family Services is continuing their investigation into Giselle’s death, spokeswoman Veronica Resa said.

Difatta-Perez is scheduled to appear in bond court Wednesday in Maywood.

“On behalf of Mayor Robert Lovero and the Berwyn Police Department, our thoughts, prayers and support go out to the Cuellar family,” the statement from Berwyn police said.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

CHICAGO (STMW) — A West Side man was ordered held without bond Thursday for allegedly killing a man and shooting two others after an argument broke out earlier this summer in the Austin neighborhood.

Demetrius Bronson and one of the victims were involved in an “incident” days before the June 14 shooting, Cook County prosecutors said at his bond hearing Thursday.

Although Assistant State’s Attorney Joe DiBella did not detail what happened between Bronson and the 31-year-old man, he said the man and his other two friends confronted Bronson in the 900 block of Lorel Avenue.

Soon, the others—Byron Floyd and a 36-year-old man—started arguing with Bronson, DiBella said. During the argument, Bronson allegedly pulled a gun and started firing.

Floyd, 31, was struck in right flank and back. He fell to the pavement immediately and died from his injuries, DiBella said.

The 36-year-old man was shot four times as he tried to run away, DiBella said. That man survived, as did the other 31-year-old, who was shot in the leg, DiBella said.

Two witnesses who saw the shooting and one of the victims identified Bronson in a photo array, DiBella said.

Bronson, of the 900 block of Lorel, has been charged with murder and two counts of aggravated battery.

Bronson, 27, is a graduate of Austin Community High School and has an 8-month-old daughter, according to Assistant Public Defender Sandra Bennewitz.

He has previously worked as a machinist and at an area Home Depot, she added.

(CBS) — Friends and loved ones of a Morgan Park man are trying to make sense of his murder.

Fifty-one-year-old Paul King was shot in the back and chest about a block away from where he almost lost a 7-year-old son to gun violence in May.

King was found lying on the sidewalk in the 1300 block of west 108th Place early Thursday. He was dead at the scene and lived on the same block.

Friends say he was a nice, caring person and did not deserve to die.

“He was my friend, and if I needed him to do something he’d do it, and that goes for anybody in the neighborhood,” Lotoya Council said Thursday.

CHICAGO (STMW) — Two men who have been charged in connection with a double homicide last week in Gary are in custody.

Shelton Curtis, 22, faces two counts of murder in the Aug. 6 shooting deaths of James Powell and Raymond Washington-Whitehead, authorities said.

He turned himself in Tuesday, according to Gary police spokeswoman Dawn Westerfield.

While at large, Curtis was “considered armed and dangerous,” Westerfield said previously.

An accomplice of Curtis’, 22-year-old Kevin Blackmon, is also in custody and faces at least one charge of assisting a criminal, Westerfield said.

On Aug. 6, police received a call of shots fired in the 1100 block of Lane Street just before noon and found a man dead in the front yard of a home, police said at the time.

Several officers then entered the home “clearing it for public safety” and found another man dead inside, police said.

Powell was from the 2400 block of Whitcomb in Gary, and Washington-Whitehead lived in the 8600 block of Illinois Street in Merrillville, Ind., according to the Lake County coroner’s office.

Their deaths were among seven murders in seven days in Gary.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

CHICAGO (STMW) — In a rare move, a Cook County jury will decide if an alleged cop killer is fit to stand trial in the murder of Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV.

Marcus Floyd, who was shot and severely wounded during the deadly incident, maintains he has “retrograde amnesia” and cannot recall the chain of events that sent him to the emergency room on May 19, 2010.

But prosecutors argued Tuesday that Floyd, 24, can assist in his defense and should stand trial.

“It doesn’t matter if he has it [amnesia] or not. … He can logically and rationally talk about the charges with his lawyers. He can logically and rationally talk about evidence,” Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Deno said in his opening arguments.

“This is not a catatonic individual.”

Floyd’s attorneys are asking jurors to find Floyd unfit for trial.

Floyd may have recovered from his injuries but he cannot recall even being outside Wortham’s parents’ home at 85th Street and Martin Luther King Drive, they said.

The last thing Floyd remembered before he woke up in the hospital was watching television with his girlfriend at home while his daughter played with toys nearby, according to court testimony.

“He can’t assist in his defense because he doesn’t know what the defense is,” defense attorney David McMahon said.

In most cases, a judge determines whether a defendant is fit for trial. But defense attorney opted for a six person jury and two alternate jurors to weigh in on Floyd’s legal fate.

The prosecution’s first witness, forensic psychiatrist Mathew Markos, said Floyd told him he doesn’t remember anything from the night in question.

Floyd only knew that he was shot and that his cousin and an officer were killed because he was told, Markos said.

Floyd also was told he had a gun at the time, but he denied having a weapon, Markos said.

Markos said Floyd didn’t exhibit any cognitive problems the two times he examined him. In fact, Floyd can recollect minute details about his life before and after the incident, the mental health expert said.

“He has very good capacity to learn and retain information,” Markos said.

Markos said Floyd is “presently, mentally fit to stand trial.”

“Amnesia per se doesn’t mean the person is unfit,” Markos added.

During cross examination, Markos conceded “assuming he does not remember,” Floyd would “not be able to provide his version” of what happened.

Floyd and his cousin Brian Floyd accosted Wortham with their guns drawn that spring, hoping to steal the officer’s Yamaha motorcycle, prosecutors said.

When he was confronted, Wortham pulled out his gun and shouted he was a police officer before gunfire erupted.

Having heard the commotion, Wortham’s father, a retired Chicago Police sergeant, ended up firing on the Floyds with his revolver and his son’s service weapon.

Brian Floyd, 20, died in the shootout.

Marcus Floyd had a lacerated liver, kidney and lungs. He also suffered two heart attacks and lost four liters of blood while hospitalized.

The lookouts in the shooting — Paris McGee and Toyious Taylor — are currently serving life sentences for Wortham’s murder.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

CHICAGO (STMW) — A clinical neuropsychologist testified Wednesday that alleged cop killer Marcus Floyd does have “retrograde amnesia” as he claims.

Robert Hanlon said when he interviewed the 24-year-old Floyd at Cook County Jail, he noticed that Floyd showed signs of having “memory impairment.”

As other mental health experts have found, Floyd has no recollection of the night Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV was murdered, according to Hanlon, who was hired by defense attorneys.

“Retrograde amnesia” is a legitimate condition and can develop after anoxic brain damage, which Floyd suffered while he underwent surgeries for his gunshot wounds in the May 19, 2010 incident, Hanlon said

Floyd was severely injured in a shootout in which Wortham’s father, a retired Chicago Police sergeant, fired at Floyd and his cohorts after they tried to take the younger Wortham’s motorcycle, prosecutors said.

Floyd’s cousin, Brian Floyd, 20, was killed in the gun battle at 85th Street and Martin Luther King Drive.

The lookouts in the deadly crime — Paris McGee and Toyious Taylor — are serving life sentences for Wortham’s murder.

Defense attorneys, who are asking a jury to find Marcus Floyd unfit for trial, presented videotaped recordings Wednesday of Floyd being interviewed by Hanlon.

Marcus Floyd could be heard answering Hanlon’s questions very slowly and sounding confused at times.

During Wednesday’s proceedings, prosecutors asked their witness, forensic psychologist Christofer Cooper, back on the stand.

Cooper said when he evaluated Marcus Floyd, his demeanor and speech was more “logical and coherent.”

“His speech was conversational and fluid. … It was a conversation I’d have with a friend,” Cooper said.

Cooper agreed with the prosecution’s contention that Marcus Floyd may have altered his behavior because he knew he was being videotaped when he was with Hanlon.

They maintain that Marcus Floyd can be tried for murder because he knows what he is charged with and can work with his attorneys to build a defense.

Closing arguments in Marcus Floyd’s fitness hearing are expected Thursday morning before Judge Timothy Joyce.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

CHICAGO (STMW) — A man has been charged with shooting his brother to death in the South Side Back of the Yards neighborhood in July.

Dequan Hopkins, 19, was charged with murder while committing another forcible felony, and aggravated discharge of a firearm for the shooting death of his brother, 22-year-old Jovan Dovantae Hopkins, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and Chicago Police.

About 8:45 p.m. on July 9, the brothers were walking in the 5200 block of South Emerald Avenue when Dequan Hopkins opened fire on a stopped SUV, according to prosecutors and police.

Jovan Hopkins crossed the street while Dequan Hopkins was firing, and was struck in the armpit, prosecutors said. He fell to the ground, yelled and tried to get back up, but collapsed.

He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died at 9:33 p.m., authorities said. He was from the 4900 block of Walsh Avenue in East Chicago, Ind.

Dequan Hopkins, of the 5100 block of South Emerald Avenue, was ordered held without bond and is next scheduled to appear in court again Monday.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

CHICAGO (CBS) — Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a longtime supporter of stricter gun control, said the on-air murders of a Virginia TV reporter and photographer served as “stark reminder” the government needs to be “shocked into action.”

The mayor said the city’s thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of WDBJ 7 reporter Alison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward, and the Roanoke community.

“I think it’s a stark reminder to all of us, both those who advocate for gun control, those in the political system that have both – as it relates to mental health, as it relates to gun control – that we need to finally come to terms, and have the system be shocked into action, rather than be stymied into inaction because of political pressure,” he said.

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Emanuel spoke at the new Chicago headquarters of in-flight connectivity company Gogo, whose CEO Michael Small coincidentally is the local head of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

“If people really want to step up, and get common-sense measures to reduce violence, like you do driving fatalities, I mean you could make a big difference,” Small said. “But as long as it’s about the Second Amendment and other superfluous issues, people are going to keep dying in America.”

Small said the issue of gun control seems to be uniquely American.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said the televised shootings of reporter Alison Parker and photojournalist Adam Ward heightened the need to find better ways to prevent the mentally ill from buying guns.

Alvarez said every state has different laws regarding background checks for firearm purchases.

After the killings of WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and photographer Adam Ward in Virginia this week, she said there should be a push for universal background checks in the U.S.

“What we have to look at is when we do allow people to carry a weapon, there have to be safeguards. There have to be checks, background checks, mental health checks. You know, certain people should never be able to carry a gun,” she said.

The killer, Vester Flanagan, was fired from WDBJ two years ago, and Alvarez noted officials there tried to deal with his emotional problems before firing him.

“It sounds like they were doing the right thing at that station, and they did release him; but I think – again – when someone applies for a gun, we have to make sure that the safeguards are in place so that someone who has this potential, this violence in his background … something like this isn’t going to happen again,” she said.

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She acknowledged the debate about gun laws gets very contentious between gun rights groups and gun control advocates, but she said something should be done in light of the Virginia killings.

“I don’t think that more guns equal less violence. I think it equals more violence, and I think what we saw with that particular crime is another example of that,” she said.

Flanagan bought his weapon legally, but Alvarez said there should be better safeguards.

“It’s important that individual states have those safeguards in place, but also on a national level. There should be universal background checks. There should be checks into whether or not a person has domestic violence in his background,” she said.

Alvarez is the guest on this weekend’s edition of “At Issue,” airing Sunday at 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. on WBBM Newsradio 780 & 105.9FM.

(CBS) — Illinois State Police say the murder of a college student apparently kidnapped off the side of I-80 23-years ago is still very much a high priority case for investigators.

It was 23 years ago tomorrow that the body of 21-year-old college student Tammy Zywicki was found along the side of a road in Missouri. She had disappeared August 23 after last being seen standing next to her car and a truck driver along I-80 in LaSalle County, Illinois.

WBBM 780’s Bernie Tafoya

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Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Jeff Padilla says the murder of Zywicki in 1992 is “a very heartbreaking case”.

He says state police investigators, an FBI agent from Chicago, the LaSalle County state’s attorney and a state police DNA expert plan to travel to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia to revisit evidence that might prove helpful in catching Zywicki’s killer.

He says, “DNA technology, in particular, is important to us and so we want to try and evaluate that and see if there is more testing that can be done.”

Master Sgt. Jeff Padilla says with improvements in DNA technology, it’s possible to zero in on the Grinnell College student’s killer with evidence found in 1992.

Despite some thinking a key suspect is already dead, Padilla says, “There are a number of potential suspects we are investigating, actively.”

Padilla says investigators hope to talk to them in the not-too-distant-future.

Padilla continues to believe someone in the public knows who was behind the murder and asks that that person comes forward to police.

CHICAGO (STMW) — A Roseland woman was sentenced to 23 years in prison Thursday for brutally beating to death her boyfriend’s toddler daughter.

Keisha Jones, 28, was found guilty of murder during a bench trial this spring by Judge William Lacy.

All of Iyonna Davis’ injuries tied to her 2012 death were inflicted within six hours before she took her last breath, authorities said at the time.

Jones was last seen with the girl in the 10900 block of South Eberhart, Cook County prosecutors had said.

The boyfriend had left the baby in Jones’ care while he got stitches removed from an unrelated injury at Roseland Hospital.

He then went to a friend’s house, leaving his 1-year-old with Jones for several more hours, prosecutors said.

Later that night, the boyfriend got a call from Jones, who told him she called 911 because Iyonna was “lying on the ground, not breathing right and making gurgling noises.”

Iyonna died a little over an hour later at Roseland Hospital.

Iyonna had a goose egg-sized bump to the back of her head and blood around her spinal cord, indicating she was slammed against an object or was struck with an object, prosecutors said.

The girl suffered bleeding at the back of her head and around the brain. She also had injuries to her temple, forehead, cheek, scalp and ears.

Jones suffered from depression, defense attorneys said at the time of her arrest three years ago.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)