CHICAGO (CBS) — A man has been charged killing a mother of five and setting her house on fire last year in the West Englewood neighborhood.
Joshua Mims, 37, is charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated arson.
Chicago Police Department
Police said he was arrested Tuesday after being identified as the man who fatally shot 32-year-old Raquel Adams on May 12, 2023, then set fire to her home in the 6400 block of South Damen Avenue.
Adams, a mother of five, was found dead of a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
Her sister said that the night Adams was killed, she took her children — ranging from 2 to 15 years old — to stay with relatives before returning to the home she shared with her fiancé in West Englewood.
Hours later, Adams was dead and her house was on fire.
“To have to think about my nieces growing up without a mother,” Rachelle Adams said. “The youngest actually has a disability and she was so determined to get her together and make sure she got her therapy. And the oldest, she’s in high school. She can’t even see her going to the ball, but she’s going to watch her from heaven, but it’s still not like I have her here.”
Adams’ sister said she had just earned her GED and planned to open a full-service beauty salon in Little Village.
Police have not said why Mims allegedly killed Adams. Mims was scheduled to appear in court Thursday for a detention hearing.
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