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Tuesday, April 23, 2024
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Matthew Hendrickson

Staff reporter

Matthew Hendrickson is a staff reporter and editor.

Crime scene tape hangs from the porch of a home at 5919 N. Washtenaw Ave. in the Arcadia Terrace neighborhood on the Northwest Side, Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 11, 2022.
Crime
Woman accused of killing, dismembering landlord takes stand in defense
Sandra Kolalou, 37, denied killing and then cutting up Frances Walker in 2022 at the Northwest Side home they shared.
By Matthew Hendrickson
 
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Crime
Kim Foxx won't take sides on request by man facing rape trial for 'certificate of innocence' in murder case
William Dukes Jr. was acquitted of the 1993 killings of a Cicero woman and her granddaughter after a second trial in 2019. In 2022, he was arrested in an unrelated sexual assault case in Chicago.
By Frank Main and Matthew Hendrickson
 
OCHOALOPEZ-041724_7.jpgYovanny Lopez, husband of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez and father of Yovanny Jadiel Lopez, stands beside a photo of him, his wife, his son and Yovanny Jadiel Lopez (pictured at the bottom) while speaking to the media after a hearing at the George N. Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Little Village, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Clarisa Figueroa entered a plea deal Tuesday for the murder of Ochoa-Lopez and cutting her baby, Yovanny Jadiel Lopez, from the womb in 2019. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
La Voz Chicago
Clarisa Figueroa se declara culpable de estrangular a Marlen Ochoa-López y sacarle a su bebé del útero
Figueroa fue condenada a 50 años de prisión. El bebé, Yovanny Jadiel López, murió varias semanas después de los hechos.
By Matthew Hendrickson
 
OCHOALOPEZ-041724_7.jpgYovanny Lopez, husband of Marlen Ochoa-Lopez and father of Yovanny Jadiel Lopez, stands beside a photo of him, his wife, his son and Yovanny Jadiel Lopez (pictured at the bottom) while speaking to the media after a hearing at the George N. Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Little Village, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. Clarisa Figueroa entered a plea deal Tuesday for the murder of Ochoa-Lopez and cutting her baby, Yovanny Jadiel Lopez, from the womb in 2019. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Crime
Clarisa Figueroa pleads guilty to strangling Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, cutting baby from womb
Figueroa was sentenced to 50 years in prison. The infant, Yovanny Jadiel Lopez, died several weeks later.
By Matthew Hendrickson
 
Family members of Ariana Molina cry, embrace and mourn on the sidewalk between the tree lawn and the fence in front of the house where the girl died in a mass shooting.
Crime
9-year-old girl killed in Back of the Yards mass shooting was 'the princess of the family'
Relatives of Ariana Molina have set up a GoFundMe account after Ariana was killed Saturday during a confirmation celebration with her family. Ten other people, including her mother, were wounded. Police blame gangs for the shooting.
By Kaitlin Washburn and Matthew Hendrickson
 
Family members of Ariana Molina cry, embrace and mourn on the sidewalk between the tree lawn and the fence in front of the house where the girl died in a mass shooting.
La Voz Chicago
Niña de 9 años que murió en atentado masivo en Las Empacadoras era ‘la princesa de la familia’
Ariana Molina estaba con su familia celebrando una confirmación el sábado por la noche cuando se efectuaron disparos. Diez personas, entre ellas la madre de Ariana, resultaron heridas. La policía culpa a las pandillas por el tiroteo.
By Kaitlin Washburn and Matthew Hendrickson
 
Chicago police work the scene in the 5900 block of North Ravenswood Avenue where an 11-year-old boy was killed and his mother was stabbed on March 13.
Crime
Man accused of killing 11-year-old boy, stabbing mother plans to represent himself in court
Crosetti Brand, 37, held firm in his decision even after Judge Mary Marubio gave him a stern warning “everyone pretty much universally agrees that it’s a bad idea to represent yourself.”
By Matthew Hendrickson
 
Rahm Emanuel Announces Police Accountability Task Force As CPD Chief Is Fired
Crime
Chicago police officer charged with misconduct after allegedly groping woman in custody
Stephan Shaw, 32, faces counts of official misconduct and custodial misconduct, according to Cook County court records.
By Matthew Hendrickson
 
Sean Tyler wears a black shirt with a grey collar and looks somber as he's surrounded by supporters during a news conference.
Crime
Sean Tyler proved his innocence, but the trauma of a wrongful murder conviction has become its own sentence
“It’s still a hurting feeling and I don’t think that’ll ever be gone,” Tyler said after he and his brother received certificates of innocence Tuesday.
By Matthew Hendrickson