Angel Yobani Guardia Espana, 49, was found fatally stabbed in an alley in the 6200 block of South Michigan Avenue in the Washington Park community area on the South Side on the morning of Monday, June 23, 2025. The Chicago Police Department investigated, and the Chicago Sun-Times homicide tracker records his death as a stabbing.
According to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner's office, Guardia Espana was found unresponsive with a laceration to his neck at about 7:30 a.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was reported hurt, and it is not known when during the night or early morning he was attacked, or whether he was killed in the alley or brought there.
Police released no description of a suspect, no vehicle and no motive, and said that no one was in custody. No later report of an arrest or charge could be found, and no reward tied to the case was found.
Almost nothing about his life has been made public.
No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this account, and no relative was quoted in news coverage. His name is recorded in the Spanish-language style, with two surnames, Guardia and Espana, and the second may also be written España in other records. That, together with the use of his middle name Yobani, may make him harder to find in public records. He may have been known to friends and co-workers by a shorter name. Friends, co-workers and relatives who knew him may still be waiting for answers.
The 6200 block of South Michigan Avenue lies in Washington Park, a South Side neighborhood named for the large park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux that forms its eastern edge. The block is near 63rd Street, an area of homes, vacant lots and alleys. A body found in an alley at 7:30 on a Monday morning was likely discovered by someone heading to work or school, and people who use the alley or live along it may have seen or heard something during the night.
His death came in a year when Chicago's killings fell to the lowest level in about six decades. The city recorded about 590 homicides in 2024 and 416 in 2025. Chicago police reported clearing 56 percent of homicides in 2024, though that figure counts cases closed without charges.
It is not known whether he knew his attacker, where he had been the night before, or whether he lived nearby. Someone may have seen him with another person in the hours before he was found, and that memory could help detectives fill in his last hours.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Angel Yobani Guardia Espana 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 Angel Yobani Guardia Espana, who saw him on the night of June 22 or the morning of June 23, 2025, or who uses the alley behind the 6200 block of South Michigan 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).
