CHICAGO (AP) — Charges have been filed against an 18-year-old Chicago man accused of breaking into the home of an 89-year-old woman, killing her and then ransacking the place before setting it on fire.
Trae Chatmon is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Josephine Johnson. Cook County Circuit Judge Laura Sullivan on Thursday ordered Johnson held in lieu of $1 million bail.
Police said Chatmon forced his way into Johnson’s home in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood the morning of Oct. 26. The suspect alleged struck Johnson in the head and stabbed her several times. He then set the apartment on fire and fled with several stolen items.
Prosecutors said Chatmon was arrested about a half hour after the fire at the scene of another burglary. Several pieces of jewelry that belonged to Johnson were in Chatmon’s possession after his arrest.