Overcome with joy and sadness, the mother of one of the five victims slain in a Chatham home nearly two months ago thanked Chicago police Wednesday after they announced they charged a man with the mass murders.
“I never gave up on you all,” Jackie Catron, the mother of Anthony Scales Jr., told police at news conference at police headquarters. Torolan Williams, of the 11600 block of South Artesian Avenue, was charged in the April 23 homicides of Scales, Lakesha Doss, Whitney Flowers, Donovan Richardson and Reginald Walker. All were shot to death inside a home in the 7600 block of South Rhodes Avenue, between 11:30 p.m. April 22 and 3 p.m. the next day, said Thomas Byrne, chief of detectives. Williams, 22, who police said possibly knew the victims through an associate, was charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, armed robbery and home invasion. After he was taken into custody, he was hospitalized for stomach pains. He is scheduled to appear in bond court Friday. Byrne said robbery was the motive and there was no forced entry; either someone answered the door or it was already open. The home was ransacked and several high-end electronic items and jewelry were taken from the home; the work of more than one person, police believe. “The investigation remains active. We still feel there is more than one person (responsible). We are tight-lipped,” Byrne said. Williams’ arrest came after police received a tip that “stood out.” Undisclosed items were seized from Williams’ Morgan Park home and his own testimony to a grand jury led to the charges, said Det. Tom Murphy. “They (police) told me somebody would start talking and they did. I feel sorry for that young man and whoever else was involved,” a tearful Catron said. The mass homicide is the second incident of its kind in the last decade. In 2003, a man killed six people in an auto parts warehouse on the South Side. He was killed during a shoot-out with police.
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