Woman Stabbed To Death In Loop Was Maryland Criminologist

CHICAGO — The woman who was fatally stabbed in the Loop Saturday afternoon was identified as a doctoral student studying criminology at the University of Maryland.

Anat Kimchi, 31, was found shortly before 4 p.m. in the 400 block of South Wacker Drive with multiple stab wounds on her upper back, according to police.

Kimchi was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition and pronounced dead around 4:30 p.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, which ruled her death a homicide.

Her attacker remains at large. Police said the man — described as about 30 years old with dreadlocks and a red bandana — fled down to Lower Wacker Drive, where he ditched the shirt he was wearing. He may have thrown the knife into the Chicago River, according to police.

Superintendent David Brown said there was at least one witness to the stabbing, and investigators have been checking surveillance footage to track the attacker's path.

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday at an unrelated news conference that detectives were pursuing some "very promising leads" to identify the attacker and review videos.

"We know who he is. We've got good film of him. We believe that he's a homeless individual and the detectives are scouring the various homeless encampments downtown," Lightfoot said. "But it's awful, no question about it. And, of course, our condolences go to her family."

The somewhat secluded portion of Wacker Drive near Van Buren Street, where Kimchi was found dead, is on the same block as a homeless camp.

Kimchi received a master's degree in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Maryland in 2017 and had an interest in criminal courts, sentencing and prisons, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The chair of the university's criminology and criminal justice department described her as a "notably accomplished scholar" and "remarkable woman who was beloved by family and friends."

The principal researcher at Choice Research Associates, the Greenbelt, Maryland-based firm where Kimchi worked as a consultant, told the Chicago Tribune that Kimchi was a "brilliant" researcher and "excellent writer."

In 2018, Kimchi published a paper in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology on the role of racial and ethnic disparities in probationary sentences.

University officials released a statement in response to her death.

"The University of Maryland grieves the loss of Anat Kimchi, a brilliant young scholar," it said. "We offer our condolences to her friends and family during this difficult time.”