Joe Harris was 31 and from Chicago when he was fatally shot on July 22, 1979. The shooting occurred after he left a store owned by El Ammouri on the 500 block of 67th Street in Chicago, and the altercation that followed led to his death.

El Ammouri became the primary suspect, was charged with murder in Harris’s killing, and was arrested at O’Hare International Airport. The case proceeded through extended legal proceedings marked by prosecution and defense contesting the evidence and charges.

The death of Joe Harris and the subsequent trial drew attention from his family and the community.