A family’s seemingly peaceful Sunday night turned chilling when a woman unknowingly encountered the possible killer of her brother George Levin, who was fatally assaulted, robbed and bound by duct tape and electrical cord in their Norwood Park home, according to Chicago police reports.
Levin’s 65-year-old sister last saw Levin around 7 p.m. Sunday when they had dinner at their Northwest Side home in the 7600 block of West Talcott Avenue, the police report stated. After eating, he went downstairs, where he lived.
But around 8:30 p.m. she heard a “loud noise” from his apartment and went to check on Levin, according to police reports obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
After noticing the back door open, she saw a person she didn’t know and asked them: “Is my brother OK?”
“Yes, I am with your brother. I will have him call you,” they responded, according to a police report.
He never called and she became worried when he didn’t respond to multiple messages. When she decided to check at about 10:45 p.m., she found Levin’s bedroom door locked from the inside, according to the reports.
She pried it open and found the partially clothed and bruised Levin, whose hands were bound by duct tape, his ankles tied with a black power cord and a sock lodged in his mouth held closed by duct tape, authorities said.
Levin’s sister told officers his cellphone, car keys and wallet were missing, officials said.
A Monday autopsy determined Levin died of multiple injuries from an assault, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His death, at 11:05 p.m., was ruled a homicide.
Levin lived at the home with his sister and mother, according to neighbors, and had a “knack for decorating.”
“He kept to himself, and he was very nice,” said neighbor Judy Nalomski, who lived next door to Levin.
Last summer, Nalomski said Levin, who was an interior designer, converted the basement into an apartment for himself. She also saw him decorate their front steps with flowers and plants.
“It was beautifully decorated,” she said. “It was the best-looking house in the neighborhood.”
Contributing: Kaitlin Washburn