PROSECUTORS: WALGREENS ATTACKER PLOTTED HIS CRIME
Officials say man accused in brutal slaying of store employee wore two sets of clothes to make stealthy escape — though motive, initially thought to be robbery, is unclear
An Old Town man accused of brutally murdering a woman inside a Wicker Park Walgreens came prepared for the crime and was wearing a second set of clothes under his outfit so he could change after repeatedly stabbing the mother of two, Cook County prosecutors said Wednesday.
Why 18-year-old Sincere Williams stabbed employee Olga Maria Calderon 10 times was not entirely clear, prosecutors said at his bond court hearing.
“I can’t say for sure [robbery] was the motive in this case,” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said.
“He [Williams] did not take anything in this case and when you look at the video, it does show him walk straight to the victim and then viciously attack her. I cannot give you, as I sit here, a definitive motive other than the fact that sometimes people just do evil things.”
Chicago police Tuesday said robbery was a possible motive and that Williams was a suspect in two recent robberies in the neighborhood, including one that took place at the Walgreens where Calderon, 32, was killed Sunday.
Four days before, Williams apparently tried to rob the same Walgreens, at 1372 N. Milwaukee Ave., with a similar-looking knife he used to stab Calderon, Murphy said.
Williams suffers from schizophrenia, an assistant public defender said.
But prosecutors, anticipating a mental health defense, noted Williams calmly exited the store following the deadly stabbing and peeled off his clothes so he ended up wearing whatever he had on underneath.
“What is chilling . . . is as [Williams] came up with this plan, he had a complete extra set of clothing on underneath the clothing he was wearing when he left his residence, including a different kind of hoodie and different pair of pants, so clearly he planned this out,” Murphy said.
Judge Arthur Wesley Willis noted Williams’ apparent mental illness but ordered him held without bail and called him a danger to the community based on the alleged preparation for the crime.
Surveillance cameras captured Williams entering the Walgreens after 9 a.m. Sunday wearing a red face mask, bright orange Chicago Bears hoodie and dark jeans, prosecutors said.
Williams came up to Calderon from behind as she stocked items on a shelf near the front of the store and proceeded to grab her by the neck with his arm.
After forcing her against a check-out counter, Williams stabbed Calderon four times in the face, three times in the neck and once in the chest, back and right hand, prosecutors said.
Calderon died from her injuries at the Walgreens, prosecutors said.
Detectives found bloody gloves, clothing and a knife within a block of the store.
Investigators methodically tracked Williams through surveillance camera footage that showed him leaving his home Sunday morning, walking to the store and strolling back to his residence after, prosecutors said.
In all the videos, Williams is seen wearing the same set of shoes, which were found in his bedroom when he was taken into custody Tuesday, prosecutors said. Packaging for the same brand of knife found near the Walgreens was also recovered from his room, prosecutors said.
Williams later sought treatment at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for the cuts on his hands he said were caused by a fence. But those injuries were consistent with cuts found on the bloody gloves near the store, prosecutors said.
Williams, a high school student and temporary worker, lives with his mother, his lawyer said.
Calderon was the mother of an 11-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy. Her family has set up a GoFundMe account to cover funeral expenses that had raised more than $50,000 as of Wednesday.