The Chicago Strangler Cases: The Unforgotten 51

Between 2001 and 2017, at least 75 women were strangled or smothered across Chicago. Their bodies were found in alleys, vacant buildings, garbage cans, lots, garages, and other places where it was easy for their deaths to become separate case files instead of a citywide emergency. The Chicago Tribune's 2018 investigation showed that only 25 of the 75 cases had been closed, leaving between 51 and 55 murders unsolved depending on how the cases were counted.

The Women Behind the Numbers

The women were not a list of cold cases. They were mothers, daughters, sisters, artists, business owners, caregivers, and friends. Angela Ford left home to pick up her children's report cards and was found critically injured in an abandoned home. Gwendolyn Williams was a protective oldest sister who loved cooking and dancing. Nancy Walker taught dance, ran businesses, and was deeply loved by her family. Teresa Bunn was eight months pregnant with her first child. Hazel Lewis was known for feeding people who were unhoused.

Many of the women were Black, and many had experienced addiction, housing insecurity, or sex work. Those circumstances may have made them more vulnerable, but they never made their lives less valuable or their murders less urgent.

Is There One Chicago Strangler?

The term Chicago Strangler is a label used to describe the pattern of cases. It does not mean police have identified one serial killer responsible for every death. The 25 closed cases show that multiple men committed some of the murders, and DNA recovered in 18 unsolved cases has not produced matching profiles. At the same time, the number of unsolved deaths, similar methods, and repeated locations have left families and advocates asking whether some of the cases could still be connected.

In 2019, Chicago police announced that detectives would review unsolved murders and examine whether newer DNA testing, updated video analysis, and additional witness interviews could produce leads. That review led to progress in some cases, including the 2025 conviction of Arthur Hilliard for the murder of Diamond Turner. Many other families are still waiting.

The Unforgotten 51

The Unforgotten 51 project was created by Roosevelt University journalism students to restore the names, stories, and humanity of women who had been reduced to statistics. Families, advocates, journalists, and community groups have continued to press for answers, better investigations, and a public response that recognizes the scale of these losses.

We discuss the victims, the gaps in the investigations, the evidence that exists, and the questions Chicago still has not answered. The truth may involve one offender, several offenders, or unrelated murders that were never properly solved. What is certain is that far too many families have been left without justice.

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