Man Charged With Woman's Stabbing Death
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A Far South Side man fatally stabbed a woman he was in a relationship with after a day of drinking Saturday when she tried to leave with another man, prosecutors said.
Chris Moore, 57, is charged with first-degree for the death of 48-year-old Janice Coleman, authorities said.
Coleman was found about noon Sunday lying in the fetal position against the front door of a home in the 11300 block of South Parnell, prosecutor Enrique Abraham said in court Tuesday.
Coleman, Moore and two others had been drinking in the home on Saturday when Coleman put her coat on to leave with one of the other men, whom she used to date, and Moore got angry, Abraham said.
Moore allegedly told Coleman, "You have been drinking with me all morning and you are going to leave with him, I don't think so," and followed them downstairs.
He wedged himself between Coleman and the other man, and shut the door behind the man, Abraham said.
He heard Coleman say more than once, "Quit playing Chris," and a couple of banging sounds, Abraham said. He waited for a few minutes and when she didn't come out, he thought she must have decided to stay with Moore and walked across the street.
Coleman was discovered the next day in front of the home where the group had been drinking, still wearing her coat. She had a stab wound to her right side, and two slash wounds and a puncture wound to the right side of her face, prosecutors said.
After she was found, her ex-boyfriend immediately contacted the police about what happened the day before, prosecutors said. He said Moore was jealous because of his previous relationship with Coleman.
Moore was arrested with blood still on him, prosecutors said. He admitted to having a dating relationship with Coleman, but said she fell down the stairs and hit her head. He claimed he tried to clean her and get her up, but could not, so he left.
A bloody 8-inch knife was discovered in the home's kitchen garbage, along with a bloody towel and cap, prosecutors said.
Judge James Brown ordered Moore—who has a lengthy criminal history including felony convictions for domestic abuse, attempted armed robbery and aggravated battery—held on a $1 million bond.
Moore's public defender Kelly McCarthy said Moore lives with and cares for his elderly mother, and is currently on disability from "an attack on his life," though she did not elaborate on the attack.
She added that he is a veteran of the U.S. Marines and Air Force, and was a paratrooper in the Vietnam War.
Moore, of the 11100 block of South Lowe, is next scheduled to appear in court March 3.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2015. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
