Shedrick J Mcpherson

Shedrick Joel McPherson Jr., known to loved ones as "Corey," "CJ," or "Forty," was a 31-year-old African-American man from Chicago who is remembered with deep affection by his family. Tributes left in his memory show a man who was a beloved son, cousin, and friend. Most importantly, he was a father. Messages from his daughter read, "I Love You Daddy," and his mother has written of the constant ache his absence has left in her soul. His family recalls his birth and the joy he brought into their lives, a love that has not faded with his passing. Living on the city's South Side, his life was enmeshed in the fabric of his community, where he was a familiar face to many.

The early morning hours of July 5, 2017, brought a violent end to Shedrick's life. The long Fourth of July holiday weekend had been especially brutal in Chicago, with more than 100 people wounded in shootings across the city. Just after midnight, at approximately 12:01 a.m., Shedrick was standing outside with two other men in the 300 block of East 47th Street. The street, located in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood, a center of African-American culture and history, became the scene of a sudden and deadly attack. According to police, an unknown individual opened fire on the group. Later court documents related to a separate case would describe the incident as a drive-by shooting.

All three men were struck by the gunfire. Shedrick, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, was not treated at the scene. He was privately transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, but the severity of his injuries was overwhelming. At 12:21 a.m., just twenty minutes after the shooting, doctors pronounced him dead. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office later officially ruled his death a homicide. The two other victims, a 33-year-old man and a 45-year-old man, were also seriously wounded. The 33-year-old was taken to a hospital in critical condition, while the 45-year-old, who was shot in the chest, was stabilized.

The Chicago Police Department launched a homicide investigation into the shooting on East 47th Street, but the case has been fraught with difficulty. In the immediate aftermath, authorities had little information about the shooter or the motive for the attack. Despite the public nature of the crime and the presence of multiple victims, no arrests have been announced in the years since Shedrick was killed. His murder remains officially unsolved, leaving his family without answers or a sense of justice for his death.

In the years following his murder, Shedrick's name surfaced in legal proceedings for an unrelated 2013 homicide. In that case, a man named Anthony Robinson was wrongfully convicted. During Robinson's trial and subsequent appeals, his defense team presented evidence suggesting that Shedrick McPherson was the person responsible for the 2013 crime. An affidavit from a public defender noted that Shedrick had expressed that it "didn't sit right with him that people were sitting in jail for something he did." After Shedrick's death in 2017, four separate witnesses came forward with affidavits, all stating that he had confessed to them his involvement in the earlier murder. This information was instrumental in the 2024 exoneration of Anthony Robinson.

While the courts addressed the matter of the 2013 case, the investigation into Shedrick's own killing has seen no public progress. For his family, the loss remains a raw and painful wound. Online memorials are filled with messages of love and remembrance, with family members lighting thousands of virtual candles to honor his memory. They post birthday wishes, share memories, and express a profound sense of grief that time has not healed. The tributes paint a portrait of a man who, despite any complexities in his life, was cherished and is now deeply missed.

As of late 2026, the homicide of Shedrick Joel McPherson Jr. is an open and unsolved case with the Chicago Police Department. There is no closure for the mother who lost her son, the daughter who lost her father, or the many other relatives and friends whose lives were forever changed by a burst of gunfire in the first hour of a July morning.