Murder Charges Filed Against Cory Gilmartin In Evanston Homicide

EVANSTON, IL — Police said murder charges have been filed against an Indiana resident accused of fatally beating an Evanston man last month. Authorities described the attack as random and unprovoked.

Cory Gilmartin, 34, of Mishawaka, faces six counts of first-degree murder in connection with the homicide of 71-year-old Daniel Murray, an Evanston resident and retired attorney.

Officers were dispatched shortly after 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 to a call of a disturbance in a building at the southeast corner of Main Street and Chicago Avenue, according to a statement from Evanston police.

Police discovered Gilmartin in the hallway near the rear exit of NorthShore University HealthSystem's immediate care center. According to prosecutors, Gilmartin led officers around a corner, where Murray was lying unconscious and bleeding.

Paramedics from the Evanston Fire Department took Murray to St. Francis Hospital, but he never regained consciousness, police said.

Investigators do not believe the two men had ever met before that night. Authorities said Murray, who had Parkinson's and used a walker, was on his way to pick up a dinner order from a nearby restaurant when he was attacked. Part of the beating was caught on video, prosecutors said.

Police said they do not know what brought Gilmartin to Evanston or that particular building.

RELATED: Retired Attorney Dies After Beating In Hallway Of Evanston Home

---

Gilmartin was taken into custody, where he has remained ever since. He was initially charged with aggravated battery to a senior, and Cook County Associate Judge Michael Hood ordered him held in lieu of the $20,000 cash portion of his bond. Had he been able to post the money, he could have been released onto electronic monitoring.

On Nov. 24, as the severity of Murray's injuries became more evident, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office added a charge of attempted murder for Gilmartin.

Prosecutors asked Cook County Circuit Judge Paul Pavlus to order Gilmartin held without bail, arguing the "proof is evidence or the presumption great" that he had committed an offense carrying a mandatory prison sentence.

Pavlus agreed, and Gilmartin has been detained without bond at Cook County Jail ever since.

Murray died Nov. 27. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide caused by blows to the head.

Prosecutors filed a six-count grand jury indictment Tuesday. Gilmartin is due back in court on Dec. 18 in Skokie. No attorney information was immediately available Wednesday for the Indiana resident, who has a 2015 misdemeanor stalking conviction that followed an earlier determination he was mentally incompetent to stand trial.