A 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy, both Venezuelan migrants, have been charged with murdering a homeless man during an early morning random attack in the Loop on Sunday, according to a detention proffer filed by prosecutors. In the filing, Assistant State’s Attorney Todd Kleist said the older boy, Wuinayker Rodriguez-Vasquez, has no local criminal record but had prior law enforcement contact in Texas in 2023 that was documented as an “alien inadmissibility” case.
Rodriguez-Vasquez, the 14-year-old, and another 14-year-old migrant were part of a group walking through the Loop around 5:45 a.m. Sunday. As they passed the 200 block of South Wabash, they approached 49-year-old Bradley Obeirne, an apparently homeless man who was lying in an alcove next to his belongings, including his cat and a skeleton mask.
Kleist said surveillance video shows one of the 14-year-old boys carrying a metal rod as he walked toward Obeirne. The proffer said the other 14-year-old stole Obeirne’s skeleton mask and ran away. Rodriguez-Vasquez proceeded to kick Obeirne from behind, starting a physical attack that would end in murder, according to Kleist…