A Chicago man is accused of fatally shooting his grandfather while inside their South Side home last week.
Elijah Winsley, 20, faces one count of first-degree murder. A Cook County judge has ordered Winsley held pending trial, a court docket in the case shows.
Before Judge Ankur Srivastava at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Cook County prosecutors alleged that Elijah Winsley opened fire on his grandfather inside the Auburn Gresham home that they shared with six other family members.
On Friday, 74-year-old Fred Winsley Jr. was shot twice inside a residence in the 8100 block of South Laflin Street, according to Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The shooting took place a block away from Cook Elementary School.
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Prosecutors alleged this week that Fred Winsley was in the living room of the South Laflin residence while Elijah Winsley approached from an adjoining hallway and opened fire. Two other family members were home at the time and did not hear an argument or struggle before the gunshots sounded, prosecutors said. After the shooting, Elijah Winsley fled down the basement steps of the home. A family member who witnessed Elijah Winsley leaving never saw him with a gun but heard a metal clank on the concrete floor of the basement, prosecutors said. Elijah Winsley fled out the back door of the home into the backyard.
Cook Elementary, located across the street, went into lockdown after hearing the gunshots, prosecutors said.
Fred Winsley was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was later pronounced dead.
After fleeing the scene, Elijah Winsley was located at 113th and Hermosa around 4 p.m. Friday after a longtime family friend reached him through a FaceTime call and saw where he was, prosecutors said. About four hours after the shooting, Elijah Winsley turned himself into police.
Investigators recovered seven shell casings, including two found across the street in vehicles owned by Cook Elementary staff.
Elijah Winsley’s mother told officers on the scene that she had previously called police with concerns over her son’s mental state, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors pointed to a previous call made to the house on April 6, when officers were dispatched to the residence for a disturbance. While there, the officers spoke with Elijah Winsley’s mother, who expressed concern for her son’s mental health but indicated he had not been formally diagnosed, prosecutors said. His mother last month also told officers that she believed her son killed the family’s two cats.
Elijah Winsley’s next court date is scheduled for June 10.