Paulino Juarez, 44, was beaten to death on the night of Saturday, October 19, 2024, along the railroad tracks in the 2200 block of West 47th Street in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, part of the New City community area on Chicago's South Side. The Chicago Police Department investigated, and Area 1 detectives were assigned to the case.
Officers found Juarez on the ground about 10:20 p.m. with a cut to the head, according to Chicago police. He was pronounced dead at the scene. A later police account reported by the Sun-Times said Juarez had been fighting with several people who chased him down the railroad tracks and beat him. An autopsy the following Monday determined that he died of multiple injuries from an assault, and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Police said the motive was not known.
They released no descriptions of the people who chased and beat him, no number of attackers beyond "several," and no direction they went. No one was reported in custody, and no follow-up appeal, charge or reward tied to his death could be found.
Little about Paulino Juarez's life has been made public. No obituary, memorial page, fundraiser or family statement that clearly refers to him could be found, and news coverage did not mention his family, his work or where he lived. Searches for his name turn up other men named Paulino Juarez, including a man in an unrelated federal gun case from the early 2000s, and none of that material bears on his death. Social media pages that track Chicago homicides noted his killing, but without words from people who knew him.
West 47th Street runs east and west through Back of the Yards, a largely Mexican American neighborhood named for the old Union Stock Yards to its north. Rail lines cross the area near Western Avenue, and the 2200 block lies just east of Western. The tracks there are isolated at night, but a chase by several people would likely have passed homes, businesses and streets where someone saw or heard it.
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.
His case stands out because of what police described: not a single blow, but a group chasing one man down the tracks. That means several people know exactly what happened to Paulino Juarez that night, and others may have heard them talk about it.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Paulino Juarez 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 was near the railroad tracks at 47th Street and Western Avenue on the night of October 19, 2024, who saw a group chasing a man, or who later heard someone talk about the fight, 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).
