Anat Kimchi, a doctoral student in the University of Maryland’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, was fatally stabbed June 19 while visiting “The Loop” central business district in downtown Chicago. The Israeli-born Kimchi was reportedly visiting friends in Chicago.
A North Potomac resident and 2008 graduate of the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, she was 31. She and her family moved to the United States approximately two decades ago, according to the Ynet news website.
In what appears to be a random act, Kimchi was stabbed twice in the upper back while walking in the 400 block of South Wacker Drive on Saturday afternoon. Her assailant immediately fled the crime scene, which is about a block away from the Willis Tower, the nation’s third tallest building and a major Chicago tourism attraction. Kimchi was later pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
A witness told police the suspect may have thrown a knife into the Chicago River.
“We suspect this likely is a homeless person that secreted themselves in the bushes and came out and committed this heinous crime,” said Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown
The suspect has not yet been identified or arrested, said Brown.
“We know who he is,” said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. “We’ve got good film of him. We believe he’s a homeless individual. It’s awful. No question about it.”
Kimchi’s friend Maria Olsen described her to Chicago’s CBS affiliate station as “just a beautiful soul. Physically gorgeous. Had her whole life ahead of her. … It’s horrible and unthinkable that someone could be taking a walk, minding their own business and be unprovoked, murdered, in broad daylight and left dying on the sidewalk. … My heart breaks for her. And she had many friends in this community, many, many friends.”
In a statement issued June 21, the University of Maryland said it “grieves the loss of Anat Kimchi, a brilliant young scholar. We offer our condolences to her friends and family during this difficult time.”
Gary D. LaFree, chairman of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, wrote in an email to the campus community: “Anat was already a notably accomplished scholar, but more importantly she was a remarkable woman who was beloved by friends and family.”
In 2017, Kimchi earned her master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice from the University of Maryland. Previously, she earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and criminology.
In recent years, she worked as a consultant at Choice Research Associates, a Greenbelt company that provides criminal justice research and evaluation services.
Kimchi’s funeral service will be held on Wednesdy, June 23. She was the daughter of Avi and Chava Kimchi, and sister of Itamar and Ofer Kimchi.
Donations in her memory can be made on the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School’s website via this link. The Kimchi family has requested that donations also be made to the Equal Justice Initiative.
In a statement issued on Monday, the family said, “We are mourning the loss of Anat and ask for privacy during this difficult time.”
The Jillian and Lindsay Wiener Short-Term Rental Safety Act requires rental companies to conduct annual fire inspections in Baltimore City and every Maryland county.
Reproductions of the murals, previously believed to have been lost, are now part of the Jewish Museum of Maryland's new permanent exhibition.
The donation will be directed to help foster research conducted by faculty at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and to advance innovative treatments.
Scholar Izabella Tabarovsky will speak at the “Generations of Courage” program on Apr. 26 at The Associated's Goldsmith campus.