Jose Castillo, 21, was stabbed to death during an argument on the evening of Wednesday, May 14, 2025, in the 2900 block of East 79th Street in the South Chicago neighborhood on the city's Far Southeast Side, an area the Chicago Sun-Times homicide tracker files under the South Shore community area. The Chicago Police Department investigated his death.
According to police and the Cook County medical examiner's office, Castillo was arguing with someone at about 6:20 p.m. when that person pulled out a sharp object and stabbed him in the chest. He was taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:03 p.m. No one else was reported hurt.
Police did not release a description of the person who stabbed him, a vehicle or a motive for the argument, and no arrests were reported. It is not known whether Castillo knew the person he was arguing with. No reward tied to the case could be found.
Little about Jose Castillo's life has been made public.
A legal services page that tracks Chicago homicides marked his death with the words "Young man killed." No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this account. His name is also very common: searches for Jose Castillo turn up athletes, court cases and obituaries for many other men, none of them the 21-year-old who died on East 79th Street. That makes it harder to find any public trace of his life and may help explain why so little is known.
East 79th Street is one of the main commercial streets of South Chicago, a historic steel-mill neighborhood near the mouth of the Calumet River with a large Mexican American community. The 2900 block lies amid stores, homes and bus stops. The argument happened at dinnertime on a weekday in May, when the street would have been busy with shoppers, workers heading home and people waiting for buses. Some of them may have seen or heard the dispute.
Chicago's homicide count was falling quickly that year. 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.
Killings that grow out of face-to-face arguments are often witnessed by friends or bystanders, and the people involved are often known to one another. That means someone in the neighborhood may know exactly who Castillo was arguing with that evening.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Jose Castillo 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 was on East 79th Street near the 2900 block that Wednesday evening, or who knew of a dispute involving Jose Castillo, 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).
