Despite DNA evidence, prosecutors decline to charge teen with murders of three people in Morgan Park last year

Chicago police officers were watching closely as the 19-year-old left his home in Auburn Gresham on Monday and drove off with a loaded handgun allegedly tucked under his seat.

The teen was suspected of fatally shooting three relatives at their Morgan Park home last year and sexually assaulting the oldest victim, 81-year-old Arteria Riley. With DNA evidence recovered from her body, the cops believed they had probable cause to make an arrest, according to a police report.

They sought to charge him with first-degree murder and aggravated criminal sexual assault, but prosecutors weren’t convinced. By Wednesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Jeannine Guzolek made it clear that the teen would face only a felony gun charge for the weapon that was recovered, the report shows.

The state’s attorney’s office declined to comment and referred questions to police. A police spokesperson would only say the investigation is ongoing. The Sun-Times is not identifying the teen because he hasn’t been charged with the murders.

Arteria Riley, her daughter, Thomas Ann Riley, 64, and her son, Ruben Riley, 61, were found shot to death when officers conducted a well-being check at their home in the 11300 block of South Green Street on April 5, 2022. Police said the motive for the killings was unclear.

Arteria Riley was a retired postal worker and widow who raised her family at the home, according to neighbors. Her daughter worked as a secretary and finance manager at St. Philip Neri School. When she didn’t show up for work that week, people grew concerned.

“They are the kind of people who would give you the shirt off their backs,” one neighbor said. “I have no idea why they would meet such a violent end.”

The teen’s arrest report notes he was “identified as a participant of the murders,” and his DNA was recovered from Arteria Riley’s body. It’s unclear what additional evidence prosecutors are seeking from police.

At his initial court hearing in the gun case Thursday, prosecutors said officers stopped the teen while he was driving a Nissan Pathfinder and saw him reaching for something. He was taken into custody, and a handgun was found in the SUV with one round in the chamber, prompting a felony charge of unlawful use of a weapon, according to the police report.

He had previously been arrested during another traffic stop in October 2021 when he was found with nearly 60 grams of weed and a handgun with an extended magazine, according to an arrest report. He was hit with four felony gun charges and pleaded guilty to one of them in January 2022, earning two years of probation that he hasn’t completed.

During Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors neglected to tell Judge Barbara Dawkins that officers were surveilling the teen because he was the suspect in a triple homicide. Dawkins had to learn that detail by reading the arrest report, and she accused prosecutors of playing “hide the ball” with the facts of the case.

“Did you plan on telling me that?” an annoyed Dawkins asked prosecutors. “It’s important for me to know.”

Prosecutors said the investigation was ongoing and was of a sensitive nature. The teen “had not been formally charged,” an assistant state’s attorney noted.

Dawkins set the teen’s bail at $50,000 in the new case but ordered him held for allegedly violating his probation. He appeared in court Friday in the other case. A woman who said she was the teen’s aunt told Judge Angela Petrone his family has hired a private attorney to represent him, but the lawyer couldn’t be there.

Petrone rescheduled the hearing for Wednesday and said the teen would be held without bail until then. If the no-bail order is lifted, the teen would have to pay $5,000 to be released.

Contributing: Rosemary Sobol