Jeanine C Dowell

Jeanine C. Dowell, a 32-year-old Black mother of three, was known for her deep dedication to her family. Her daughter affectionately called her “Ms. MakeItHappen” for her unwavering commitment to providing for her children, whom she loved dearly. Friends and family remembered her as a kindhearted and wonderful mother. Jeanine grew up on the same block as her longtime friend, Juliet Washington, and the two had grown closer over the years.

On the stormy summer evening of June 28, 2017, Jeanine was with Juliet in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood. Juliet, a 41-year-old mother of two who worked as a mail carrier in suburban Westmont, had spent the day in the city visiting her eldest daughter. After their visit, she picked up Jeanine. Around 10:30 p.m., the two friends were sitting in Juliet’s SUV, stopped at a red light at the intersection of Garfield Boulevard and South Wabash Avenue, less than a five-minute walk from where they had both grown up. It was there that their lives were violently cut short.

A stolen gray sedan pulled up behind Juliet’s SUV. Two men exited the car, approached the women's vehicle on foot, and opened fire in an ambush-style attack. For about 15 seconds, they unleashed a barrage of bullets. One gunman fired 14 times into the driver's side window where Juliet sat, while the other fired eight times at Jeanine in the passenger seat. Both women were struck multiple times in the head and body. Their SUV rolled onto the sidewalk and came to rest near a tree as the shooters got back in their car and fled.

Police and paramedics arrived at the 5400 block of South Wabash Avenue to a chaotic scene. Nearly two dozen shell casings littered the street. Distraught family members, including one of Juliet's daughters, arrived and cried out in anguish. Both Jeanine Dowell and Juliet Washington were pronounced dead at the scene at 10:38 p.m. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed they died from multiple gunshot wounds. The double homicide baffled relatives, who could not imagine why anyone would target the two women. A relative of Juliet’s stated she was a hardworking woman who didn't bother anyone and was likely just giving her friend a ride.

The Chicago Police Department launched an investigation into the murders. For more than two years, the case remained unsolved, leaving the families of both women in a painful state of uncertainty. However, investigators eventually made significant breakthroughs. Authorities identified two suspects in the brutal killings: Makavelle Sampson and Kevin Brown.

In February 2019, Makavelle Sampson, then 22, was charged in connection with the murders. He pleaded not guilty to 12 felony counts, including first-degree murder. In January 2020, the second alleged gunman, 24-year-old Kevin Brown, was also arrested and charged with first-degree murder. During a court hearing, prosecutors detailed the ambush, stating that Sampson and Brown had fired a total of 22 shots into the women's vehicle. Both men were ordered held without bail. Even with the arrests, a clear motive for the ambush has not been publicly released by authorities.

The news of the second arrest brought a sense of relief to the victims' families. Juliet Washington’s oldest daughter said she felt like she could "finally breathe again" knowing that the alleged perpetrators were in custody. The community mourned the loss of the two mothers, leaving behind a total of five children between them. A memorial with a teddy bear was placed in a chain-link fence near the scene of the shooting. The case against both Makavelle Sampson and Kevin Brown is now proceeding through the Cook County court system.