Daniel Ornelas, 29, was stabbed to death during an argument inside a residence in the 10300 block of South Avenue F in the East Side neighborhood, on Chicago's Far Southeast Side, on the night of Tuesday, October 11, 2022. The Chicago Police Department investigated, and the Chicago Sun-Times homicide tracker, which lists every homicide in the city, records his death as a stabbing.
At about 8:45 p.m., Ornelas was arguing with a person he knew inside the residence when he was stabbed in the chest and neck, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner's office said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was reported hurt.
Police said a person was taken into custody and that Area detectives were investigating. That is the last public word on the case. No name, age or relationship of the person in custody was ever released, and no charge, court date or later report could be found.
It is not publicly known whether the person was charged under a name that was never linked to Daniel Ornelas in the news, or was released without charges. No reward tied to his death could be found.
Daniel Ornelas was born on September 2, 1993, according to his obituary, which describes him as "late of East Side" and the beloved son of Ciro and the late Maria Ornelas. Arrangements were handled by Griesel Jimenez Stodden Funeral Home. No other family statement, memorial or fundraiser could be found. Other men named Daniel Ornelas, in Texas, Georgia and elsewhere, appear in search results but have no connection to this case.
South Avenue F runs through the East Side, a close-knit community on the city's southeastern edge near the Indiana state line, bounded by the Calumet River and Wolf Lake. It is a neighborhood of modest single-family homes where many families have lived for generations, and neighbors there often know one another well. People living on the 10300 block may have heard the argument or seen who left the house that evening.
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. In a case where police said the victim knew his attacker and someone was taken into custody the same night, the lack of any public outcome stands out.
Although police said a person was taken into custody, no criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Daniel Ornelas 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 at or near the home on South Avenue F that night, or who knows what became of the person taken into custody, 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).
