Aaliyah Newell, 47, was found beaten to death inside her home in the 7200 block of South Vincennes Avenue, on Chicago's South Side, on the evening of Wednesday, March 23, 2022. The Sun-Times homicide tracker places the address in Englewood; some reports described the area as Grand Crossing. The Chicago Police Department investigated.
Newell was last seen on Sunday, March 20, when she met friends for drinks after weekend sorority events downtown and in Hyde Park and told them she had a date later that evening. She was last heard from about 11 p.m. that night. When she stopped answering her phone, worried friends called 911 about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday and went to her home. The door was unlocked, and they found her on the floor. Police said she had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. Her ankles were bound by a cord, police said, and sources described her as restrained.
Her car was found about a block away, and friends said various items had been taken from the house, where she lived alone.
No one was taken into custody. On Friday, March 25, police issued a community alert seeking information from anyone who may have seen suspicious activity in the area. "Her life is lost, and there's no one in custody," said Kimberly Egonmwan, a fellow member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. No reward tied to her case could be found.
Newell worked in human resources as a recruiter and manager and taught online college classes as an adjunct professor. She was a University of Illinois graduate and an Alpha Kappa Alpha member. She had suffered a stroke the year before and was working hard to recover, friends said. "She was a beautiful, beautiful soul," said Brandy Garris, a friend and sorority sister. Her mother, Cynthia Newell, said at a vigil outside the home: "No one deserves to be murdered in their own home. I appreciate every effort in the community to help us find whoever murdered my daughter."
Her case has not been forgotten. Years later, a friend posted on Facebook asking whether there had ever been an update on who harmed her, using a nickname, "Pretty Ivy."
The 7200 block of South Vincennes Avenue is a residential street of houses and two flats on the South Side, near the Dan Ryan Expressway and 71st Street. Neighbors may have noticed her car being moved, a visitor arriving Sunday night, or someone carrying items from the house between March 20 and March 23.
Chicago recorded about 720 homicides in 2022, down from about 800 in 2021, the deadliest year in the city in a quarter century. Chicago police reported clearing roughly half of the city's homicides in the years from 2019 through 2023, though those figures count cases closed without charges, so the share of killings that led to a criminal case was lower.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Aaliyah Newell could be found in news archives or public records. More than 4 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knows who Aaliyah Newell planned to meet on the night of March 20, 2022, or who saw her car moved on Vincennes Avenue that week, 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).
