Edwin Eliseco Chuy Cutzal, a 31-year-old man, was found dead on February 6, 2017, in a home located in the Brighton Park neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest Side. According to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, Cutzal died of multiple gunshot wounds. He was discovered alongside Pricilla A. Gloria Reyes, a 33-year-old woman, who also died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Both deaths were ruled homicides.
The investigation revealed that the couple had been dating for only a month before their tragic deaths. On the night of the incident, Reyes had asked a friend to come over because she was having problems with her tenant, Leandre Evans. Evans, a 19-year-old man, was renting a room in Reyes' apartment and had been causing disturbances. Reyes' friend heard someone demanding to know who she was talking to before the phone went dead. Shortly after, loud banging noises were heard from Reyes' apartment.
Witnesses reported seeing Evans exit the gangway carrying a bag and then calling an Uber to pick him up near the apartment. The next day, police found Reyes and Cutzal dead in the apartment with gunshot wounds. Inside the apartment, police discovered Reyes' cellphone, a receipt from a Dollar Tree store, and some food items. Video footage from the Dollar Tree captured Evans buying the same items. Text messages on Reyes' phone from Evans' phone regarding the rental of the room further linked him to the crime.
Evans, who used the name "Dre" in his communications, was arrested and charged with the murders of Reyes and Cutzal. He was ordered held without bond by Judge Donald Panarese Jr. The case highlighted the dangers of renting rooms to strangers and the tragic consequences that can arise from such arrangements.
