Crime & Law
Chicago Man Charged 3 Years After Prosecutors Allege He Shot Woman, Himself in Washington Park
A file photo shows a crime scene blocked off by the Chicago Police Department. (WTTW News)
A Chicago man has been arrested and charged nearly three years after he allegedly attempted to kill a woman and then himself in a botched murder-suicide inside a Washington Park neighborhood home.
Anthony Wilson, 54, was held without bail during a hearing Wednesday afternoon following his arrest on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery in the March 2019 shooting of a 57-year-old woman.
Wilson and the woman had a relationship, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Loukas Kalliantasis, but they got into an argument inside an apartment in the 100 block of East 60th Street on March 4, 2019.
Wilson allegedly told the woman that he had a gun, which prompted her to grab a knife. As she turned to walk away, Wilson allegedly shot her twice in the head. Kalliantasis said the victim heard two pops and felt pain in her head.
He then allegedly turned the gun on himself and fired once into his own head. A witness saw Wilson shoot himself, and the woman, who was still conscious, told them he had just shot her, according to Kalliantasis.
That witness called 911 and responding officers found the woman on the ground holding Wilson, who was covered in blood, Kalliantasis said. Both the woman and Wilson were hospitalized, in serious and critical condition, respectively. Both survived their injuries.
Also present in the apartment was a 2-year-old child who was unharmed.
Police in the apartment recovered a .22 caliber revolver found next to Wilson as well as a 12-inch kitchen knife. Following his arrest, Wilson allegedly told investigators he remembered the incident, but called the shooting an “accident” and denied that he had shot the victim.
According to Kalliantasis, it took until last week for Chicago police to receive a lab report from the Illinois State Police, which showed a positive result for gunshot residue on the right and left cuff of the jacket Wilson was wearing the night of the shooting. No gunshot residue was found on any of the victim’s clothing.
“Although there were physical altercations, that does not provide any sort of reliable self-defense claim,” Kalliantasis said, noting the woman was shot in the back of the head as she was “walking away and therefore de-escalating the situation.”
Wilson is due back in court on Feb 23.
Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431
