Yesenia Venegas, 22, of Humboldt Park, was found stabbed to death in the North Branch of the Chicago River near the 3400 block of North Rockwell Street, on the city's North Side, just after midnight on Sunday, September 27, 2020. The Chicago Police Department investigated her death as a homicide.
According to police, two people saw the body of a woman in the river about 12:15 a.m., near the Lane Tech College Prep campus.
Chicago police marine unit officers and Chicago Fire Department crews pulled her from the water and took her to Swedish Covenant Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Police first said she had head trauma, then clarified that she had numerous stab wounds to her neck and face. Police said it was unclear how long she had been in the water or when she was stabbed.
Venegas had texted one of her sisters on the morning of Saturday, September 26. Hours later she went missing. Police did not release a suspect description, a vehicle or a motive. In October 2020, her family told Block Club Chicago that no one had been arrested and appealed to the public: "We want to ask the community [to] please, please share any video footage of her in the area." No reward tied to her case could be found.
Her family remembered a sociable young woman who rarely let a day pass without telling them she loved them. That last text to her sister, Liliana Millan-Calderon, said she "loved me and was really proud of me." Another sister, Yanet Millan-Calderon, said, "We all feel like there's a big hole missing inside of us," and asked, "Help us find out what happened to our sweet little Yesi." In the weeks before her death, Venegas had returned to her hometown of Chicago after about 10 months in Phoenix with her boyfriend, relatives said. She lived in the 1400 block of North Ridgeway Avenue in Humboldt Park.
The river location stands out. It is miles from her home in Humboldt Park, and it is not known where she was attacked or how she came to be in the water.
The stretch of the North Branch near the 3400 block of North Rockwell Street runs behind Lane Tech College Prep, close to Addison Street, at the edge of the North Center and Lakeview areas. Anyone who was along the river or on Addison Street late on Saturday, September 26, 2020, may have seen or heard something.
Chicago recorded about 780 homicides in 2020, up from about 500 the year before. Police reported clearing roughly half of the city's homicides in those years, though those figures count cases closed without charges.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Yesenia Venegas could be found in news archives or public records. More than 6 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who saw Yesenia on Saturday, September 26, 2020, who has video from near the river or her neighborhood that day, or who knows whom she was with, may be able to help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a car seen leaving the area or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call the Chicago Police Department's anonymous tip line at (833) 408-0069 or submit a tip online at CPDTIP.com, or contact Cook County Crime Stoppers at (800) 535-STOP (7867).
