On a quiet late-night trip in the 5400 block of South Shields Avenue in Chicago’s Fuller Park neighborhood, a woman’s life was taken in a chilling instant. The victim, 40-year-old Odeal Curley, had just disembarked a private bus when a man, later identified as 35-year-old Demar King of Calumet City, allegedly drew a firearm from within the vehicle and fired a shot that struck her in the right thigh. Despite quick emergency care by the Chicago Fire Department and transport to the University of Chicago Medical Center, Curley was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
According to police, the incident took place at approximately 12:40 a.m. on Saturday. Investigators say that King opened fire inside the bus just as Curley disembarked, turning what should have been a routine ride into a fatal encounter.
Once law enforcement identified King as the suspect, they issued a bulletin and set in motion efforts to locate him. The following day, officers from the Illinois State Police spotted King’s vehicle on a local expressway and tried to stop it. King reportedly refused to comply, triggering a pursuit that ended near Union Avenue and Canalport Avenue on the Lower West Side, where he was arrested without further incident.
King is now facing a litany of charges: one felony count of first-degree murder, additional felony charges tied to his flight from officers, several misdemeanors, and multiple traffic citations connected to the high-speed chase.
Law enforcement officials highlighted that this arrest was the result of strong coordination between local and state agencies, enabling them to take the suspect into custody within 24 hours of the homicide.
The community is now trying to process the loss and the shock of how swiftly a ride home turned tragic. Friends and neighbors of Curley, a resident of the area, have expressed heartbreak at the abruptness of her death and are looking for answers as the legal process begins.
King is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse this coming Tuesday. The charges against him mark a grim end to what began as an ordinary night.
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