A Venezuelan migrant is charged with first-degree murder, accused of fatally stabbing a church volunteer who repeatedly tried to help as he struggled with homelessness upon arriving in Chicago, prosecutors say.
Carlos Ochoa-Ynaga, 49, is accused of killing Juan Quiroz, 34, a volunteer at Starting Point Community Church in Belmont Cragin, a congregation that helps people experiencing homelessness. The two men had come to know each other through Sunday conversations at the church, Assistant State’s Attorney Mary Grace Donnelly said in a detention filing.
But last spring, the church’s pastor asked Ochoa-Ynaga to leave after he allegedly became verbally aggressive toward other patrons. Even after that, Quiroz continued to show kindness, giving Ochoa-Ynaga money for food when he saw him in the neighborhood.
About a week after Ochoa-Ynaga was removed from the church, Quiroz loaned him an air pump to fill a tire on his electric bike. But when Quiroz asked for it back, Ochoa-Ynaga allegedly pulled out a knife and threatened him, Donnelly said. Quiroz told his brother about the incident…