Tyrone Golar, 36, was stabbed to death in the 900 block of North Lamon Avenue in Austin, on Chicago's West Side, on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 16, 2020. Area Four detectives of the Chicago Police Department investigated, and the Chicago Sun-Times homicide tracker, which lists every homicide in the city, records his death as a homicide by stabbing.
According to police, Golar was attacked with a butcher knife about 3:50 p.m. He was stabbed in the abdomen and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Cook County medical examiner's office identified him, and an autopsy ruled his death a homicide. No one else was reported hurt. One online funeral listing gives his date of death as June 14, 2020, but police and the medical examiner placed the attack on June 16.
Police released no description of the attacker, no motive and no account of what led up to the stabbing, and no arrest was announced.
It was not reported whether he knew the person with the knife or whether the attack happened indoors or on the street. No reward tied to his case appears in the public record.
His obituary, published by Smith and Thomas Funeral Home, says he was born Tyrone King Golar Jr. in Chicago on December 23, 1983, to Tyrone Sr. and Linda Golar, both of whom died before him. He attended Austin High School, confessed his faith at an early age and joined New Grace Life Cathedral under Bishop Dwayne A. Funches Sr. He worked at Food for Less and Pete's Market and with temporary agencies. His family described him as "a friendly and high-spirited person and liked by many," with "a kind heart" and always "willing to give a helping hand." He enjoyed time with his family and was an avid music listener. He was survived by his wife, Georgia Golar; two stepsons, Brandon and Nickolas Catlege; two sisters, Yvonne and Yvette Brown; aunts, uncles, nieces, a nephew and many cousins and friends.
Austin is one of Chicago's largest community areas by population, a West Side neighborhood of greystones, two-flats and apartment buildings stretching to the city's western edge. Golar grew up there and went to school there. The 900 block of North Lamon Avenue is a residential block, and on a June afternoon people outside or at their windows may have seen the attack or someone leaving with a knife.
Chicago recorded about 780 homicides in 2020, one of its deadliest years in decades, and the West Side was among the hardest-hit parts of the city. Police reported clearing roughly half of homicides in that era, though that figure counts some cases closed without charges.
Searches for his name also turn up records for other men named Tyrone Golar, including a man featured in a 1985 newspaper story and a Tyrone K. Golar of Chicago who died in 1994. Neither is the 36-year-old man killed in 2020.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Tyrone Golar could be found in news archives or public records. More than 6 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on North Lamon Avenue that Tuesday afternoon, or who knows of a dispute he was in before he died, may be able to help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a person seen running from the area or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call the Chicago Police Department's anonymous tip line at (833) 408-0069 or submit a tip online at CPDTIP.com, or contact Cook County Crime Stoppers at (800) 535-STOP (7867).
