Saturday, February 1, 2020

Chicago Police make first arrest among 51 female strangulations

Chicago Police have arrested Arthur Hilliard and charged him with the homicide of Diamond Turner, the first arrest to be made among a large cluster of 51 female strangulations on Chicago's South and West sides. The cluster was identified by a computer algorithm developed by the Murder Accountability Project.

Turner, 21, was found strangled, beaten and partially disrobed in a trash bin in the 7300 block of South Kenwood Avenue by city garbage collectors on March 3, 2017. Her case was similar in many key respects to those of the other 50 victims.

Hilliard, 52, is also under investigation for two other homicides, according to police. He was previously charged and convicted of the illegal concealment of the body of murder victim  Andra Williams, who was confined to a wheelchair. Williams' body was found with multiple stab wounds in a shopping cart in the alley behind his Westside apartment building.

Hilliard has a history of six misdemeanor assault or battery charges over a number of years, although none resulted in conviction.

Police said they arrested Hilliard after an Illinois state crime laboratory delivered DNA results that confirmed blood found in Hilliard's home belonged to Turner. Chicago Interim Police Superintendent Charlie Beck said, "As soon as DNA came back, the warrant was served" for Hilliard's arrest. However, Illinois officials said the most recent lab results in Turner's murder were delivered to Chicago Police in March of last year.

To download a copy of MAP's analysis of the Chicago strangulations requested last year by the Chicago City Council, click here. To see a map showing the victims' names, body-recovery locations and details of these crimes, click here.