Family of slain 81-year-old continue to seek answers 4 years later
CHICAGO (CBS) – It's been four years since Thana Muhammad was found brutally killed in her Rosemoor home and there still hasn't been an arrest in the case.
The story made national headlines four years ago for all the wrong reasons. An 81-year-old woman beloved in her community savagely killed and then dismembered. CBS 2's Megan Hickey spoke to her daughter who is taking extraordinary steps to find out who did it.
"Allowing murders to go unsolved sends a horrible message to [the] community," said Ashanti Chimurenga. "It traumatizes families forever."
For more than four years, Chimurenga has been haunted by one question: Who would want to murder her 81-year-old mother?
The door was locked when Chicago police made a well being check on Muhammad at her Rosemoor home in June of 2018.
They believed Muhammad let her murderer inside, taking advantage of her well-known kindness.
It wasn't just the way she died, but what happened after.
"She had been found in two storage bins," Chimurenga said. "She had been dismembered."
Almost nothing was taken from her home, besides some of her tools. Police recovered her stolen silver 2012 Honda Accord on the West Side, but since then, no developments according to CPD.
A friend told Chimurenga they spotted the car double parked at 16th and Kenzie as well. But the pod cameras weren't working and since then, there have been no developments, according to Chicago police.
Unfortunately, Chimurenga's long road to justice is not unique.
Nationwide, the homicide clearance rate is down, and according to data obtained by the CBS 2 Investigators, the city of Chicago's rate is below average.
The year Muhammad was killed, there were 579 murders and only 140 of those were closed with an arrest.
"The message has become very clear here in Chicago," Chimurenga said. "That there is a very good chance that you can do something and get away with it."
Chimurenga grew frustrated and began taking matters into her own hands, enlisting the help of Cook County Crime Stoppers. Chairman George McDade.
"What we all, I think, are trying to do is reach that person's heart," said McDade.
Crime Stoppers is offering a $15,000 cash reward for information.
"That one piece of information you have, that one piece of gossip you heard may be what solves this case," McDade said.
She's also utilizing the services of a private detective, Robert Crotty, of Lyght Detective Agency.
"We need more people like that to stand up and say 'enough,'" Crotty said.
Great lengths, because he doesn't think police will be able to solve this one alone. They need help and for the community to stand up. And Chimurenga said she won't stop until they do.
"If you know anything, if you were involved in the case, find it in your heart to come forward," she said.
Muhammad was truly a pillar in her community. She was a longtime x-ray and ultrasound technician, an early champion for women in the workplace and for social justice issues.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers or Chicago police. They can remain anonymous.