Tag Archives: mckinley park

Head found in McKinley Park lagoon two months ago identified

(CHICAGO) The family of a woman whose severed head was found in a lagoon in McKinley Park on the South Side earlier this year is struggling to come to terms with her death.

So far, only the head of 20-year-old Quesola Mimms has been recovered and, as a result, her family has been unable to arrange funeral services.

Community activist and crisis responder Andrew Holmes, speaking only steps from the lagoon where her head was found, told reporters Wednesday that a $2,000 reward is being offered for information that will lead to her killer’s arrest and conviction.

“The family is very upset because they have to make funeral arrangements after her severed head has been released to the family, and the rest of her body parts are not with her,” said Holmes, who was flanked by community activists as he spoke on the banks of the lagoon.

“You are cruel. You are not human,” Holmes said in reference to Mimms’ killer.

The press conference was held less than 24 hours after Chicago Police announced charges against Kamel Harris in the murder and decapitation of 2-year-old Kyrian Knox, whose head and other body parts were found in the Garfield Park lagoon in September 2015.

Mimms’ head was found in a bag by a park district worker about 10 a.m. on Sept. 23, authorities said at the time. Her last contact with her family was on Sept. 21.

Holmes said that, based on the condition her head was in, it’s likely that it was in the lagoon for more than a day or two.

According to Chicago Police, no missing person report was ever filed for her, though Holmes said her family maintains that one was filed.

Holmes said Mimms had a 1-year-old daughter when she was killed and the child often asks where her mother is. The girl now lives with her grandmother.

At the time of her disappearance and death, Mimms was slated to start a new job in a factory, according to Holmes.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office released her identity Wednesday.

Though the lagoon was drained after Mimms’ head was found, none of her other body parts have yet been recovered. At the time of the press conference, it was apparent that the lagoon’s water level had not yet returned to its previous depth.

But other human remains, packaged by a funeral home, were found in the lagoon, Holmes said.

According to a police source, Mimms filed a police report on Sept. 12 for criminal damage to property, though the incident was not thought to be violent or domestic-related.

Holmes asked anyone with information about her death to call Area Central detectives.

— Chicago Sun-Times

CPD releases sketches of severed head found in park lagoon

Chicago police released sketches of a person whose head was found in a bag in the McKinley Park lagoon last week. | Chicago Police photos

(CHICAGO) On Wednesday, Chicago Police released sketches of a person whose severed head was found inside a bag last week in the McKinley Park lagoon in hope of finding out who they were.

The human remains were found about 10 a.m. Sept. 23 at the park at 2210 W. Pershing, according to Chicago Police.

A Chicago Park District worker found the bag during a routine clean-up, a source said.

The remains of the person found were described as black, between 15 and 25 years old, police said. Investigators are unsure if they were male or female.

Anyone with information on the person’s identity is asked to call police at (312) 747-8730.

CPD Commander apprehends McKinley Park burglars

Israel Diaz (left) and George Milero | Chicago Police photos

(CHICAGO) The commander of the Chicago Police Department’s Deering District (9th) caught two burglary suspects as he was driving through the McKinley Park neighborhood Tuesday morning, police said.

Cmdr. Daniel J. Godsel was on his way to drop off a custom notification letter — a hand-delivered warning to people the CPD believes are most likely to be involved in violent crime — about 10:40 a.m. Tuesday, police said. While driving, he heard a dispatch call of a burglary in progress in the 1600 block of West 38th Place.

Godsel drove to the home and noticed pry marks on the front door and found two men inside the home, who he was able to detain, police said.

Israel Diaz, 25, of the 5700 block of South California, and George Milero, 38, of the 3400 block of West 60th Place, were each charged with one count of felony burglary, police said. Diaz was also charged with one felony count of possession of burglary tools.

Diaz was ordered held on $75,000 bond Wednesday, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office. Milero’s court information was not immediately available.