Warren Walton, 63, died after an assault in the 200 block of West 70th Street in the Greater Grand Crossing community area on the South Side on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Englewood District officers responded to the call, Area One detectives investigated, and the Chicago Sun-Times homicide tracker records his death as a homicide caused by an assault or beating.
According to police, officers responded to a call at the 70th Street address at about 8:25 a.m. and found Walton near the sidewalk with injuries to his head and face. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. No one else was reported hurt.
For months his death was not counted as a homicide. Only in late December 2025 did the Sun-Times report that an autopsy by the Cook County medical examiner's office had found that he died of multiple injuries from an assault, and that his death had been ruled a homicide.
Police released no description of an attacker, no vehicle and no motive, and no arrest was reported. No reward tied to the case could be found.
Walton lived in the 8100 block of South Drexel Avenue, a couple of miles southeast of where he was found, according to the medical examiner's office. It is not known why he was on West 70th Street that Saturday morning. No obituary, memorial page or family statement could be found for this account. Several other men named Warren Walton appear in unrelated records, which makes it harder to find a public trace of the 63-year-old man who died in May 2025.
The 200 block of West 70th Street lies near Wentworth Avenue and the Dan Ryan Expressway, close to the Englewood neighborhood. It is an area of homes, vacant lots and small businesses. Because Walton was found on the street early on a Saturday morning, people heading to work, to stores or to the nearby CTA Red Line may have seen him before or after he was hurt.
His death came as Chicago's homicide count was falling. 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.
The long delay between his death and the homicide ruling stands out. Seven months passed before the public learned that he had been killed, and by then any memories of that morning may have faded. That delay makes it all the more important for anyone who remembers something to speak up now.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Warren Walton 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 saw Warren Walton on the night of May 9 or the morning of May 10, 2025, or who saw a fight near West 70th Street and Wentworth Avenue, 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).
