Antonio Reyes, a 21-year-old man from Chicago, stands accused of a string of murders dating back to 2020, according to details emerging from police reports and recent court proceedings. Reyes, who has been behind bars since he was 17, was charged this week in connection with five separate murders, in addition to four attempted murders that unfolded during the same timeframe. The unfolding narrative, punctuated by the alleged violence of a teenager, has brought forward a chilling account of the events that transpired in 2020.
Reyes, now 21 years old, was initially jailed after he purportedly killed a man in the aftermath of a romantic breakup. The killings for which Reyes is charged seemingly began when he was yet 16, embarking to commit violent acts that would eventually be linked to him over nine months. As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, this included the April murder of 20-year-old Claudio Cossio, who was waiting to pick up a friend for a basketball game when his life was claimed by gunfire from a passing vehicle.
The charges further encompass the murders of Francisco Magana in March, Damian Duran in May, and Jose Martinez and Justin Gonzalez, who were killed a day apart in November. Reyes was also indicted for an attempted murder incident that transpired on Thanksgiving Day in Gage Park, which left a 27-year-old man severely injured. Reyes has remained in custody since December 2020 for the murder of Luis Davalos Garcia in June of that year, as noted by NBC Chicago.
"We knew that [Reyes] was locked up for killing somebody already, but we didn't know about all these other murders," Claudio Cossio's mother, Nohemi Cossio, told the Chicago Sun-Times. The courtroom scene, as described, found families of the victims converging, perhaps to seek a semblance of closure or understanding as they faced the accused. Reyes, according to the Sun-Times, came face-to-face with his public defender during a hearing that was punctuated by the collective gaze of the friends and relatives of the alleged victims.
