Marcus Felton, 25, was found beaten to death inside a home in the 5400 block of West Quincy Street in Austin, on Chicago's West Side, on Sunday, July 19, 2020. He lived in Austin. The Chicago Police Department investigated his death.
According to police, officers found Felton unresponsive with blunt trauma wounds to his head about 12:15 p.m. inside the home. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Cook County medical examiner's office identified him, and his death was ruled a homicide. Police did not say who else was in the home.
A person was arrested at the scene, police said at first. By the following Wednesday, police said that person had been released from custody. The person was not named, and police did not say why the person was released or whether detectives were still seeking anyone else.
No suspect description, motive, public appeal or reward tied to his death could be found.
Felton's family and friends raised money for his funeral and memorial through a GoFundMe page, which said that Marcus Felton passed away on Sunday, July 19, from blunt trauma wounds to the head, and that his family and friends were heartbroken by the tragedy. A legal document posted online also refers to a Marcus Felton known by the nickname "Katt," though it could not be confirmed from public sources that it concerns the same man.
Marcus Felton is also a common name. Searches turn up obituaries and records for other men named Marcus Felton, including a young man born in Chicago who died in Wisconsin years earlier, which makes it harder to trace the man who died in Austin in 2020.
The 5400 block of West Quincy Street lies in Austin, one of Chicago's largest community areas, on the West Side along the border with suburban Oak Park. The block is a residential street of homes and small apartment buildings a short distance from the CTA Blue Line and the Eisenhower Expressway. Neighbors and visitors that weekend may know who was there.
Chicago recorded about 780 homicides in 2020, up from about 500 the year before. Police reported clearing roughly half of the city's homicides in those years, though those figures count cases closed without charges.
Old Chicago cases can still move. Rasheedah Beyah, 42, died in August 2020 of injuries from a 2019 beating in Park Manor; in March 2022, prosecutors charged a man with first-degree murder in her death.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Marcus Felton 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 at or near the home on West Quincy Street that weekend, or who knows what happened inside before police arrived, may be able to help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a car seen leaving 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).
