Authorities identify homeless man beaten to death on Near West Side

Authorities have identified a homeless man who was beaten to death early Sunday in the Near West Side East Ukrainian Village neighborhood.

Officers found 67-year-old Benjamin Soto Ramirez on a sidewalk just before 2 a.m. Sunday in the 1100 block of North Ashland, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He had severe head trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy Sunday found Soto Ramirez suffered multiple blunt and sharp force injuries, and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Later Sunday, community activist Andrew Holmes patrolled a stretch or North Ashland, distributing fliers and asking anyone with information about the incident to come forward. A $1,000 reward was offered for any information that would lead to a prosecution.

No one was in custody in connection to the man’s death as Area Central detectives investigated.