A suspect has been arrested in connection to the stabbing death of a University of Maryland student who had been visiting friends in Chicago when she was killed last weekend, Chicago police said Friday.
Anat Kimchi was stabbed around 4 p.m. Saturday, June 19 in the city’s Loop District at South Wacker Drive. Police found her with two stab wounds to the upper back. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead.
On Thursday, police said they had identified a potential suspect in the killing of Kimchi, 31, an Israeli-born woman and doctoral candidate studying criminology. Police said they were looking for a man who was possibly homeless who was also wanted for attacking two other women.
On Friday, they announced that a suspect is in custody and that charges are pending. They did not identify the suspect.
Earlier in the week, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said police knew who stabbed Kimchi and were scouring homeless encampments for the suspect.
The University of Maryland described Kimchi as a “a brilliant young scholar.”
“Anat was already a notably accomplished scholar, but more importantly she was a remarkable woman who was beloved by friends and family. Please keep her loved ones in your thoughts and prayers,” Gary La Free, chair and professor of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, said in an email.
In a new statement, the Kimchi family said, “Anat worked tirelessly in the field of criminal justice to reduce racial and ethnic inequalities in the justice system.
If news organizations want to respond to her death, coverage of issues related to racial and ethnic inequalities in the justice system would honor her life’s work.”
Her family urged anyone interested in making a donation in her memory to contribute to the Equal Justice Initiative.
The Associated Press and WTOP’s Glynis Kazanjian and Michelle Basch contributed to this report.
