Leonia Tucker, 81, was found with multiple injuries to her face and body inside an apartment in the 6300 block of South May Street in Englewood, on Chicago's South Side, on Sunday, August 13, 2023. She died three days later, at 9:13 p.m. on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, at University of Chicago Medical Center. The Chicago Police Department investigated. The Chicago Sun-Times homicide tracker, which lists every homicide in the city, records her death as an assault and beating.
Police did not say publicly who found her, what time she was discovered, or how long she had been hurt. An autopsy on Thursday, August 17, found that she died of complications of multiple injuries from an assault, and the Cook County medical examiner's office ruled her death a homicide. Both the Sun-Times and Fox 32 Chicago reported that no arrests had been made.
No suspect description, motive or person of interest was announced in any coverage that could be found.
Police did not say whether the attack appeared to be a robbery, a dispute with someone she knew, or something else, and no reward was publicly offered. No later story reported an arrest or a charge in her death.
Beyond her name, her age and the dates of the attack and her death, almost nothing about Leonia Tucker has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this account. She surely had family, friends and neighbors who remember who she was, but none of that has entered the public record. Other women named Leonia Tucker appear in search results from other states, but none of those records concern her.
Her age stands out. At 81, she was among the oldest people killed in Chicago in 2023, and she was beaten inside an apartment rather than on the street. The injuries were severe enough that she died after three days in the hospital, which means whoever attacked her used considerable force against an elderly woman.
The 6300 block of South May Street is a residential block of houses and apartment buildings just west of Halsted Street and near 63rd Street in Englewood. The intersection of 63rd and Halsted was once one of the busiest shopping districts in the city, and it remains a center of activity in the neighborhood. Neighbors who saw visitors at her building that weekend may hold an important piece of the story.
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 Leonia Tucker 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 Leonia Tucker, who visited or lived near the apartment on South May Street, or who heard talk afterward about who hurt her 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).
