Bree Gregory was 29 when she was murdered on January 18, 2009, in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Her body was found partially clothed in the snow on South Drake Avenue; the autopsy confirmed strangulation as the cause of death and ruled the death a homicide. Numerous abrasions were reported on her face, hands, and ankles.

Investigators say Norvin Ortiz contacted Bree for sex on the day she was killed; when she refused he became angry, strangled her, and pushed her body out of his vehicle. DNA recovered under Bree’s fingernails matched Ortiz’s brother, a detail that helped secure an arrest warrant. Ortiz fled to Guatemala after the murder and remained at large for years before being located in Westminster, Colorado, and extradited back to Chicago to face first-degree murder charges.

Bree’s death was one of several similar homicides in Chicago at that time and is cited in discussions about women’s safety and violence in vulnerable neighborhoods. If anyone knew Bree, saw her on January 18, 2009, or has information about the events that day, please come forward.