Nicole De Leon, 25, a mother of three, was found dead in a bedroom of her South Chicago Heights home on June 2, 2018. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled her death a homicide from multiple gunshot wounds to the head. She had lived recently in South Chicago Heights after previously residing in Park Forest and Matteson, and attended Rich South High School and Columbia Grammar School.

The home was shared with her boyfriend, 22-year-old Arthur Mendez, who was charged with Nicole’s murder. Authorities say Mendez allegedly used a revolver firing .38-caliber bullets; the weapon itself has not been recovered. The gun was reportedly purchased legally by Sabastian Torres, the boyfriend of Mendez’s sister, and Torres was later charged with knowingly transferring a firearm to a known felon. The South Chicago Heights address had a documented history of domestic incidents, and investigators executed search warrants, reviewed documents, and analyzed surveillance footage.

Nicole’s death left her family and community devastated and her three young children without their mother. Did anyone in the area know Nicole or have information about the household at that time?