Second juvenile charged in murder of 70-year-old woman in Hegewisch

The boy, 16, was arrested Monday in Roseland after police identified him as the second gunman in the Aug. 16 murder of Yvonne Ruzich, police said.

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A woman sits in front of a memorial set up for Yvonne Ruzich outside Baltimore Food & Liquor Store in the Hegewisch neighborhood, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.

A woman sits in front of a memorial set up for Yvonne Ruzich outside Baltimore Food & Liquor Store in the Hegewisch neighborhood, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

A second juvenile has been arrested and charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a 70-year-old woman in the Hegewisch neighborhood last year.

The boy, 16, was arrested Monday in Roseland after police identified him as the second gunman in the Aug. 16 murder of Yvonne Ruzich, Chicago police said.

Last year, police said tipsters helped police identify the two minors who shot Ruzich as she sat in her parked car and chatted with her stepson before reporting for her shift at Baltimore Food & Liquor that morning.

Surveillance video showed Ruzich with her stepson in his car in the 13300 block of South Baltimore Avenue when gunmen approached from behind and opened fire.

Ruzich, known in the Far South Side neighborhood as “Grandma Jo,” drove away but crashed the car. The gunmen got back into their car, drove up and fired several more shots before driving off.

Police have not indicated a motive for the murder, but Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan has said the suspects were in a stolen car and were believed to have been involved in multiple carjackings in the hours before the shooting.

The first suspect, a 17-year-old boy, was arrested later in August and charged with murder.

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