John Branscomb, 56, a painter and musician who lived in the South Loop, was stabbed to death at a beer garden at Navy Pier, in the 600 block of East Grand Avenue on the Near North Side, on the evening of Sunday, June 29, 2025. The Chicago Police Department investigated, and the Chicago Sun-Times homicide tracker, which lists every homicide in the city, records his death as a homicide by stabbing.
Police said Branscomb and a 64-year-old man got into an argument at the pier about 5:30 p.m. During the quarrel, the older man pulled out a sharp object and stabbed Branscomb multiple times in the upper body, police said; the 64-year-old was also cut on the chest. Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said the men knew each other and the fight was over a woman, and that "the guy took one swipe at the victim and the victim walked away, sat down and apparently died there."
Branscomb was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Officers found the 64-year-old man, from south suburban Riverdale, still at the scene near a set of stairs, with scattered drops of blood nearby, according to a police report. He was taken into custody and hospitalized in serious condition, and underwent surgery for what was described as a small cut to the chest. According to the police report, he "made multiple statements that the victim attacked him and he stopped the attack." He was released without charges, and police did not explain why. Police did not rule the killing justified. No reward was announced.
Branscomb was the youngest of five siblings. He grew up in the South Chicago neighborhood, graduated from Bowen High School and had lived downtown for 15 or 16 years. His brother Stanley, 67, said he loved painting, especially nature landscapes and animals, played the guitar and congas, and loved politics, travel and above all Chicago. "We lost a good one," Stanley Branscomb said. "I'm trying to find faults, but he really didn't have them. He stayed by himself, and he just enjoyed the city." Painting, his brother said, "is what his peace was."
Navy Pier, on the lakefront in Streeterville at the end of East Grand Avenue, is one of the busiest tourist attractions in the Midwest, and on a summer Sunday evening its beer gardens, walkways and stairways are crowded with visitors and staff. Dozens of people may have seen or heard part of the argument, and cameras may have recorded it.
Chicago's homicide count fell sharply in this period. 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 criminal charges, so many families are still waiting for an arrest even in a safer year.
No criminal charge or court case connected to the death of John Branscomb 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, and the man police took into custody was released without charges. Visitors or workers who were at the Navy Pier beer garden that Sunday evening, or who recorded video, may be able to help investigators understand how the fight began. 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).
