The brother of the woman found dead in a garbage can earlier this month is now facing an attempted murder charge after allegedly attacking a woman he accused of knowing what happened to his sister.
Javan Weatherspoon, 34, was arrested and charged this week on one count of attempted first-degree murder, according to Chicago police.
His arrest comes just weeks after his sister, Zenobia Weatherpoon, disappeared before her body was found in a garbage can in an alley on the city’s South Side. Her official cause of death was still pending as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, and the investigation into Weatherspoon’s death was still classified as a death investigation.
Police had no updates in Zenobia Weatherspoon’s death as of Thursday afternoon.
On Thursday before Judge Luciano Panici Jr. at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, prosecutors alleged that Javan Weatherspoon shot a 45-year-old woman after accusing her of knowing what happened to his sister.
Prosecutors, citing surveillance footage, alleged that the woman was standing in a parking lot in the 5400 block of South Halsted Street in the New City neighborhood on Sunday afternoon when Weatherspoon exited a nearby liquor store and approached her.
As Weatherspoon approached, the woman heard him yelling something to the effect of “What do you know about my sister?” prosecutors alleged. The woman and Zenobia Weatherspoon had been friends, prosecutors said, and the woman was one of the people who had discovered her body. Since his sister’s body was found, Weatherspoon had accused the woman of knowing something about his sister’s death on several occasions, prosecutors stated.
The woman replied she didn’t know anything else about his sister’s death, and Weatherspoon then approached the woman angrily, prosecutors said. They heatedly exchanged words, prosecutors said, which led to Weatherspoon allegedly striking the woman in the head with a small firearm. The woman fell to the ground, and Weatherspoon then stood over her and shot her once in the left pelvic area before walking away, prosecutors alleged.
He encountered a group of people and allegedly yelled at them before ultimately turning around and walking back toward the woman. He approached and argued with the woman again, then fired a second shot, which did not hit the woman, prosecutors said. Weatherspoon walked away again while a witness called 911.
In a statement, the Cook County public defender’s office confirmed that an assistant public defender has been assigned to represent Weatherspoon.
“This case is in the earliest stage of what will likely be a lengthy legal process,” the public defender’s office said in the statement to the Tribune. “We would remind the public that statements made by police and prosecutors are only allegations and that cases can change significantly as they are investigated further.”
Weatherspoon’s family could not be immediately reached for comment.
The woman was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where testing showed she suffered one gunshot wound to her left hip area and a head fracture. Police on the scene recovered a .22-caliber shell casing, prosecutors said.
Police arrested Javan Weatherspoon on Wednesday in the 800 block of West 54th Place, where he lives. He was ordered held pending trial.
His next court appearance is scheduled for July 29.
Chicago Tribune’s Caroline Kubzansky contributed.
