Dwayne Woods, 50, was stabbed to death in what police described as a domestic-related attack on the afternoon of Friday, June 28, 2024, in the 2100 block of North Neenah Avenue on Chicago's Northwest Side. The Sun-Times homicide tracker places the block in Belmont Cragin. The Chicago Police Department investigated, and Area Five detectives were assigned to the case.
According to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner's office, Woods suffered a cut to the neck about 4:30 p.m. He was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in suburban Maywood, where he was pronounced dead. Police did not say whether the attack happened inside a home or outside, or whether anyone else was hurt.
Police said the attack was domestic-related and that a person of interest was taken into custody. That person was not named, and no criminal charge, court case or follow-up report connected to his death could be found afterward.
Being taken into custody as a person of interest is not the same as being arrested and charged, and people held for questioning in Chicago are often released while detectives continue to investigate. No reward tied to his case could be found.
Almost nothing about Dwayne Woods's life has been made public. No obituary, memorial page, fundraiser or family statement for him could be found, and news coverage did not describe his relationship to the person questioned, his family or his work. His name is common, and searches turn up many other men named Dwayne Woods, including a university professor and a man in an unrelated 2010 police case whose age does not match. None of those concern the 50-year-old killed on Neenah Avenue.
The 2100 block of North Neenah Avenue lies on the city's Northwest Side, in a residential area of bungalows and two-flats between Belmont Cragin and Montclare, a short distance east of the city's western border with Elmwood Park. Killings are much less common there than in many parts of the city. Neighbors who were home on a Friday afternoon in late June may remember an argument, a call for help or the police response that followed.
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.
Domestic killings are usually among the most solvable homicides, because the people involved are known to one another. That no charge has been found in this case, despite a person of interest being held the same day, is notable, and the reason has not been made public.
Although a person of interest was taken into custody on the day of the killing, no criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Dwayne Woods could be found in news archives or public records. More than 2 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Dwayne Woods and his household, who heard a dispute on North Neenah Avenue on June 28, 2024, or who knows what happened after the person of interest was questioned, 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).
