Man wanted in connection with Skokie murder arrested in Chicago

A man wanted for questioning after his child’s mother was found strangled Thursday in north suburban Skokie was arrested Sunday afternoon on Chicago’s West Side.

Jermaine Powell was arrested on a warrant charging a parole violation at 4:13 p.m. in the 2700 block of West Jackson, according to Chicago Police. He was also charged with one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass to a vehicle.

Powell was wanted for questioning after Skokie police conducting a well-being check at the request of a family member found 31-year-old Catherine M. Benyamin dead at 10:24 a.m. Thursday at an apartment in the 8200 block of Keating Avenue, authorities said.

An autopsy Friday found she was asphyxiated as a result of being strangled, and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Joshua Powell, the 10-month-old son of Benyamin and Jermaine Powell, was missing until about 7 p.m., when authorities were informed the baby had been dropped off at a church near Halsted and Roosevelt on the Near West Side, police said. It is believed that someone matching the father’s description dropped the boy off at the church.

The baby, who is now with a family member, was taken to the University of Illinois Hospital for routine observation, but is healthy and unharmed, police said.

The North Regional Major Crimes Task Force is assisting Skokie police in investigating the homicide, which police believe was an isolated event.

Anyone with information should call police at (847) 982-5900.