Reginald Winslow, 64, was stabbed to death during an argument in the 7900 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chatham, on Chicago's South Side, on the evening of Wednesday, September 14, 2022. Area Two detectives of the Chicago Police Department investigated. The Chicago Sun-Times homicide tracker, which lists every homicide in the city, records his death as a stabbing.
At about 7 p.m., Winslow was arguing with someone on the block when he was stabbed in the neck, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner's office said. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. No one else was reported hurt. "No one was in custody," the Sun-Times reported.
Police did not describe the person he was arguing with, say what the argument was about, or say whether the two knew each other. No vehicle, person of interest or reward tied to his death was ever made public.
His killing drew a brief mention far from Chicago: a Toronto Sun column the next day called him "the latest addition to a macabre roster of death" in the city, but no follow-up reporting on the investigation could be found.
Winslow's family held his funeral on October 1, 2022, at St. John C.O.G.I.C., a church at 75th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, just a few blocks from where he was stabbed, according to an obituary notice from Leak & Sons Funeral Homes. The wake began at 11 a.m. and the service at noon. The notice records that he passed on September 14, 2022. No other family statement, memorial or fundraiser could be found.
The 7900 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue runs through Chatham, a historically Black, largely middle-class South Side community known for its well-kept bungalows. Cottage Grove there is a busy commercial street with shops, restaurants and bus stops, and at 7 p.m. on a September weeknight it would still have been light out, with people coming and going. An argument that ended in a stabbing in plain view on such a street is something passersby, store workers or drivers may have seen.
Chicago recorded about 720 homicides in 2022, down from about 800 in 2021, which had been the deadliest year in a quarter century. Chicago police reported clearing roughly half of the city's homicides in those years, though those figures count cases closed without charges. Older victims killed after street arguments, with no suspect named, often receive little public attention after the first day.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Reginald Winslow 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 was on Cottage Grove near 79th Street that Wednesday evening, or who knew Reginald Winslow and who he had been in conflict with, 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).
