CHICAGO — An 18-year-old Mount Greenwood woman found dead in Chicago Lawn earlier this year was murdered, authorities said Tuesday.
Karalynn Ashley McNicholas, 18, was found in May, but it wasn’t until Tuesday that the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office could confirm McNicholas was killed in a homicide. She was strangled to death, according to the newly released findings.
At 7 a.m. May 11, a woman’s body — later identified as McNicholas’ body — was found in the 6000 block of South Maplewood Avenue, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and her death is being investigated as a homicide. No one was in custody as of Tuesday afternoon.
McNicholas had lived in Mount Greenwood. After her death, her family raised more than $9,600 on GoFundMe to pay for her funeral and related expenses.
McNicholas’ family wrote that her face had been cut and bruised and her phone, car and purse were missing when her body was discovered.
“Please continue to keep our family in your prayers as we search for answers,” her family wrote on the GoFundMe page.