Man, 94, Dead After Beaten By Homeless Man He Helped

Updated: 11/25/10 1:17 p.m.

CHICAGO (STMW) - An elderly Northwest Side man beaten and robbed twice by a homeless man in separate home invasions died Wednesday afternoon.

Stanley Letkiewicz, 94, of the 2800 block of North Long Avenue, was pronounced dead at Resurrection Medical Center at 12:45 p.m., the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said.

An autopsy on Thursday revealed Letkiewicz died from cerebral injuries and blunt force trauma from an assault and his death was ruled a homicide, the medical examiner's office said.

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Police said Letkiewicz had befriended a beggar at an Aldi grocery. But in the early morning hours of Sept. 3rd, the beggar allegedly approached Letkiewicz as he was taking out his garbage and grabbed him by the arms and forced him back into his house, police said.

He demanded $100 from Letkiewicz and when he refused to give it to him, the beggar allegedly pushed him on the bed and punched Letkiewicz 10 times in the chest, police said. Letkiewicz offered him $40, but the suspect grabbed his wallet, removed $100 and fled.

It was not immediately known if Letkiewicz was taken to a hospital. Letkiewicz reported the incident to police later that same day.

On Oct. 13 at 8:40 p.m., Letkiewicz's neighbor saw a broken window on the elderly man's home.

The neighbor became worried and when he went to check on Letkiewicz he found him lying face up on the floor with a dresser drawer on top of him, police said. The home was in disarray and appeared to have been ransacked.

Letkiewicz told police the person who attacked him was the beggar from the September incident, police said.

The neighbor's son called 911 and Letkiewicz was taken to Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center where he was initially in serious condition with lacerations and bruises, police said. He later died.

Police said the suspect is known and described him as being a Hispanic man with a light complexion who is in his late 30s to early 40s. He is between 5-foot-10 and 6-foot, 180-200 pounds with brown eyes, black hair and a short but thinning hair style.

He was not in custody Thursday morning.

Grand Central Area detectives are investigating.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)