On April 16, 2023, Norman (Nor) Redden, a 51-year-old man from Chicago, was shot to death in his girlfriend’s South Chicago home. The incident also left his girlfriend, Tamera Washington, dead; court documents and police reports identify the accused as Steven Hawthorne, Washington’s ex-boyfriend. Hawthorne reportedly entered the home with a key, went upstairs and shot Redden while he was in bed. He then allegedly chased Washington outside and beat her to death with a large rock while her two young daughters hid inside; a passing motorist pulled the children to safety.

At the time, Hawthorne was out on bond for an unlawful-use-of-a-weapon-by-a-felon charge from a January traffic stop. He had a prior murder conviction from 1983 as a teenager and had been released from prison in 2017 after his sentence was reduced following a Supreme Court ruling about juvenile life terms. Hawthorne was arrested soon after the killings, found running from the scene covered in blood and wearing a GPS monitoring bracelet that tracked him near Washington’s home; he is being held without bond pending further proceedings.

Does anyone have information about Redden’s life in South Chicago or about the neighborhood that could help clarify what happened that day?