Charles Micenhamer, 78, of the 200 block of South Sacramento Boulevard, was found lying face down with massive head injuries in the 3900 block of West Madison Street in West Garfield Park, on Chicago's West Side, on Sunday, July 16, 2023. He died more than two weeks later, at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. The Chicago Police Department investigated, and the Chicago Sun-Times homicide tracker, which lists every homicide in the city, records August 1 as the date of his death.
According to police, he was taken first to Mount Sinai Hospital and then transferred to Holy Cross Hospital, where he died. The Cook County medical examiner's office found that he died of blunt force injuries of the head from an assault. The tracker notes that no time of occurrence is known, so it is not clear when on that Sunday he was hurt or how long he lay in the street before he was found.
His death was not publicly treated as a homicide until months later.
On December 12, 2023, the Sun-Times reported that officials "now suspect foul play" in the death of the 78-year-old man and that the medical examiner had ruled it a homicide. By then, nearly five months had passed since the assault, time in which memories fade and video recordings can be erased. No suspect description, motive, witness account or reward was announced in any coverage that could be found.
Little about his life has been made public, and no obituary for him could be found for this account. A 2022 obituary for Franzetta Loraine Micenhamer-Hall, born in Chicago in 1982, names her parents as Connie Cunningham and Charles Micenhamer. Because the surname is so uncommon, she may have been his daughter, but the records reviewed here do not confirm it.
His age stands out. He was 78, far older than most homicide victims in Chicago, and he was found about a mile from his home on Sacramento Boulevard. His surname is also rare, so people who knew him in the neighborhood would likely recognize it.
The 3900 block of West Madison Street lies near Pulaski Road in West Garfield Park. Madison is one of the West Side's main commercial streets, with storefronts, bus stops and steady foot and car traffic through much of the day. Shopkeepers, bus riders or people who regularly spend time on that stretch may have seen an older man being attacked, or seen him lying in the street, in mid-July 2023.
Chicago recorded about 620 homicides in 2023, down from about 720 in 2022 and about 800 in 2021, the deadliest year 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. Most killings in those years were shootings, and deaths from stabbings and beatings often received only a few lines of news coverage before fading from view.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Charles Micenhamer could be found in news archives or public records. More than 3 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Charles Micenhamer, or who saw an argument or an injured older man on Madison Street near Pulaski Road on July 16, 2023, may be able to help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a person 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).
