Introduction: A Life Cut Short

Hazel Lewis, a 52-year-old African American woman, became one of Chicago's many unsolved homicide cases when her life was brutally taken in November 2007. Her tragic death not only devastated her family but also highlighted a disturbing pattern of violence against women in the city.

Discovery of the Crime

On November 14, 2007, firefighters responded to a blaze behind an elementary school in the 800 block of East 50th Street on Chicago's South Side. There, they discovered Hazel's lifeless body burning inside a trash bin. She had been strangled before her body was set on fire, a gruesome act that shocked the community. ...Read More