Maria Blanca Lazaro-Castillo was 41 when she was shot and killed on October 13, 2024, in the McKinley Park area of Chicago. She was sitting in a car with her ex-boyfriend in the 3800 block of South Damen Avenue when, after an argument, he exited the vehicle and shot her in the head. The suspect fled in a white Chrysler Town & Country with license plate IT9950D and has not been apprehended.

Lazaro-Castillo was a mother of three, ages 9, 11, and 18, and had worked at Pillars Community Health for five years. Her family launched a GoFundMe organized by her brother-in-law, Miguel Valenzuela, which exceeded its $5,000 goal and raised over $21,000. Her death has renewed calls for stronger protections for victims of domestic violence, including the passage of Karina’s bill to clarify and strengthen policies for confiscating firearms from people subject to orders of protection.

If anyone in McKinley Park saw the white Chrysler Town & Country with plate IT9950D or has information about the shooting, please come forward.