Yasming K. Felton was 41 years old when she was killed in Chicago on Saturday, February 1, 2025. The Chicago Police Department investigated her death. The Chicago Sun-Times homicide tracker, which lists every homicide in the city, records it as a homicide caused by an assault or beating in the 7100 block of South Vernon Avenue in the Greater Grand Crossing community area on the South Side.
Beyond her name, her age and the date and place of her death, almost nothing about Yasming Felton has been made public. The tracker's entry for her case shows its news story as pending, and no news report about her killing, 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.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public.
The record does not say what time of day she was attacked, whether she was hurt indoors or outside, whether she knew the person who attacked her, whether she died at the scene or later at a hospital, or whether anyone else was hurt. It does not say whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
Her name itself stands out. Yasming is an unusual spelling, and it may be recorded differently in other records, perhaps as Yasmin or Yazmin. That could be one reason searches turn up so little about her. Her age and sex also stand out: most homicide victims in Chicago are men, and a woman of 41 would likely have had close family, friends, co-workers or a partner who noticed when something was wrong.
The timing matters too. She died at the start of February, in the depth of a Chicago winter, when fewer people are outside and a beating might go unseen or unheard by neighbors behind closed windows.
The 7100 block of South Vernon Avenue sits in Greater Grand Crossing, a largely residential South Side community of brick two-flats, apartment buildings and single-family homes, a short distance from the busy commercial stretch of 71st Street. People who lived on or near the block in early 2025 may remember Yasming, and may remember the police activity that followed her death.
Chicago was in the midst of a steep drop in killings when she died. The city recorded about 590 homicides in 2024 and 416 in 2025, the fewest in about 60 years. Chicago police reported clearing 56 percent of homicides in 2024, though that figure counts cases closed without charges. Cases with few public details, like hers, often fade from view quickly.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Yasming K. Felton could be found in news archives or public records. More than a year later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Yasming Felton and saw her in the days before she died, anyone who lived near South Vernon Avenue and 71st Street at the time, or anyone who heard talk afterward of what happened to her, 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).
