Kashard Herrod, 27, was beaten in the 6600 block of South Green Street in Englewood, on Chicago's South Side, early on Friday, March 29, 2024, and died hours later at University of Chicago Medical Center. The Sun-Times homicide tracker lists his age as 18, but news reports and family accounts give it as 27. Area One detectives investigated.
Around 12:45 a.m., officers responding to a call about an unresponsive person found him with severe head trauma. He was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition and died there. The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled his death a homicide due to multiple injuries. His family said he had been dropping off a woman he was out on a date with when he was attacked, and that his body was found in the middle of the street. His car, his wallet and his ID were stolen. "They seen him laying in the street.
They say he had been bloody," his mother, Constine McCauley, said.
On April 1, Chicago police took a 32-year-old man into custody and charged him with first-degree murder, but he was later released. The Cook County State's Attorney's Office said, "After a thorough review, we concluded that the totality of the evidence was insufficient to meet our burden of proof to file murder charges related to this incident." The man instead faced misdemeanor domestic battery and criminal damage to property charges in connection with what happened. Prosecutors said they would receive any additional information. "They need to find that young lady and question her, charge her," said his grandmother, Beverly Russell.
Herrod was a father of two. "He was so very kind and loved by everybody," his mother said. His family pressed prosecutors to reopen the case; "We want the state's attorney to open this case back up or step down, period," his cousin Allena Taylor said. In 2025, his mother filed a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois, McCauley v. City of Chicago, as his next of kin.
Englewood is a South Side community area of frame houses, two-flats and vacant lots, where many residents know their neighbors. A man lying in the middle of Green Street shortly after midnight, and a car driven away from the block, are things someone may have seen or heard.
Chicago recorded about 590 homicides in 2024, down from about 620 in 2023 and well below the roughly 800 of 2021, the deadliest year in a quarter century. Chicago police reported clearing 56 percent of homicides in 2024, though that figure counts cases closed without charges, so the share of killings that led to an arrest and a criminal case was lower.
No murder charge, conviction or court case holding anyone responsible for the death of Kashard Herrod could be found in news archives or public records. A man was arrested within days, but prosecutors declined to file murder charges, and more than 2 years later there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible for his killing. The woman he was with that night, anyone who saw his car after March 29, 2024, or anyone on South Green Street who heard the attack 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).
