Velma Howard, a 50-year-old woman from Chicago, was found murdered on February 24, 2014. Her body was discovered wrapped in a blanket in an alley at 622 North Homan Avenue, located in the Humboldt Park neighborhood. She had been strangled to death, and her case drew attention as part of a troubling pattern of strangulation homicides targeting women in certain areas of the city.
Howard's death raised concerns among community members and crime analysts, as it bore similarities to other unsolved homicides in Chicago during the same period. Some investigators speculated about a potential connection between her case and those of other women who had been murdered in similar fashion in nearby neighborhoods. These concerns added her death to a broader discussion about unsolved strangulation cases in the city.
Despite the eerie similarities, Howard's case remained unsolved, contributing to the frustration surrounding a series of unsolved murders of women, many of which occurred in high-crime areas where victims were left in vacant lots, alleys, or abandoned buildings. Her death, like many others, pointed to the dangers faced by women in vulnerable circumstances in Chicago.
