Chicago media shine spotlight on Austin homicides

In this month’s issue of Chicago Magazine, reporters David Bernstein and Noah Isackson write about the way local police track the number of homicides.

In the article – titled “The Truth About Chicago’s Crime Rates: The city’s drop in crime has been nothing short of miraculous. Here’s what’s behind the unbelievable numbers” – the magazine investigates the case of Austin resident Tiara Groves.

The 20-year-old woman’s body – naked, bound and gagged – was found last summer in a West Side warehouse. Initially, her death was classified as a homicide, but later the Chicago Police Department changed the classification to “noncriminal death investigation,” which meant her death was not included in Chicago’s homicide count for 2013.

Then there was the case of Maurice Harris. Last March, the 57-year-old was beaten near the corner of Cicero and Van Buren. He died days later, but his death wasn’t classified as a homicide either.

Chicago Magazine “identified 10 people, including Groves and Harris, who were beaten, burned, suffocated, or shot to death in 2013 and whose cases were reclassified as death investigations, downgraded to more minor crimes, or even closed as noncriminal incidents—all for illogical or, at best, unclear reasons,” reporters wrote.

To read the full story, click here.

Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass also wrote about Tiara Groves recently.

Posted by kenyatta groves (five days ago – 4/13 is today)