Ruth Mae McCoy
On the evening of April 22nd 1987, Ruth Mae McCoy also known as Ruthie, was found lifeless in her 11th floor apartment in Chicago. Her mysterious murder bears similarities to the 1992 horror film ‘Candyman.’
McCoy was born in Hughes, Arkansas on the 13th of January 1935 and was one of nine children. As a child, her and her family much like many Southern families at the time, moved to the south side of Chicago. She attended Phillips High School briefly. She started to display signs of mental illness in her 20’s. Her family however, did not know the extent of her illness but stated that she would talk to herself often and was prone to bursting into anger.
Ruthie gave birth to a baby girl called Vernita when she was 27. During Vernita’s childhood, she had to stay on and off with relatives as Ruthie was often institutionalized. Ruthie would be fine with the assistance of her medication but when not taking her medication, she would swear at strangers to which Vernita would say ‘Mama, why are you cussing at these people? You don’t know them. You might get hurt.’
Ruthie initially moved into apartment 1109 at 1140 West 13th Street in 1983 after her previous apartment in the Humboldt Park neighbourhood flooded. She was prudent in moving to a high-rise apartment due to the fear of the dangers that this particular area was used to. The area was filled with crime whether shootings or burglaries. She requested to move to the south side near her family, but when that failed, she accepted the West side apartment.
In 1986, two people entered through Ruthie’s bathroom medicine cabinet and burglarized her apartment. She reported it to the Chicago Housing Authority but no action had been taken. Ruthie began receiving supplemental security income, saving some to move away from such a vicious area. The rest of the money would often go to preachers often thinking it would ensure multiple miracles.
At 8:40, 911 received a range of calls from Ruthie. The operator could not understand Ruthie and was noted as a disturbance with a neighbour. What Ruthie was actually trying say to the operator was that someone was trying to enter her apartment through her bathroom medicine cabinet. Two calls came through 911 reporting hearing banging, screaming, and gunshots coming from her apartment. The police showed up 10 minutes later. They tried to knock and when they did not get a response, they attempted to enter the apartment but to no avail, they could not. They then decided to leave. On April 23rd, a neighbour of Ruthie’s called 911 concerned of where Ruthie was. This prompted Chicago police officers and CHA security to go back to her apartment. Due to the lack of response coming from Ruthie’s apartment, a carpenter had to drill the apartment door. When they opened the door, poor Ruthie was found face down lying dead on her bedroom floor. She had been shot four times. No one knows the true details of events that took place on that fateful day but two young men, Edward Turner, 18 and John Honduras, 21 were charged with her murder, home invasion, armed robbery, armed violence, and residential burglary. Some witnesses claimed to have seen them walk around the complex hours before her death. The charges however, were dropped in 1990 due to the lack of evidence against Turner and Honduras. Ruthie’s daughter Vernita sued Chicago Housing Authority on the grounds of faulty design and easy access into the apartments.
Overall, this is a really sad case and had me in tears when I first read about the case and the details of what Ruthie had to deal with. Chicago Housing Authority should have done more to protect Ruthie. They knew of her mental troubles and knew that she had requested to stay in an area where she could be closer to her family where she would have been more safe. I pray that one day, we will come to find out the truth and that the person or people who committed such a henious crime are brought to justice. Ruthie was an innocent soul who tried to look out for her neighbours. She had a difficult life but still tried to remain positive. Rest in power Ruthie.
