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Prosecutors said that Cook County Judge Timothy Joyce sentenced
Joseph Guardia, 30, of suburban Melrose Park on Wednesday after
Guardia pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in connection with
Joseph Kromelis' death.
Kromelis had long been a fixture in downtown Chicago. He was
known for walking the streets of the Loop and for his long, wavy
white hair and mustache. He was the subject of news stories and
a documentary and once told the Chicago Tribune that he roamed
around downtown “as a way of life.”
According to prosecutors, Guardia poured gasoline on Kromelis
and set him on fire as Kromelis slept under blankets along Lower
Wabash Avenue in May 2022. Kromelis sustained severe burns that
covered more than half of his body. He died that December at age
75.
Guardia said he didn't realize a person was under the blankets.
Prosecutors countered that Kromelis' head and lower legs were
visible. Guardia's only explanation as to his motive was that he
was “an angry person.”
The Cook County Public Defender's Office's represented Guardia.
The office said in a statement to the Tribune that Guardia is
mentally ill. His attorneys had tried to work out a deal with
prosecutors that would have called for him to plead guilty but
mentally ill but without success, the statement said.
The Associated Press called the public defender's office seeking
comment late Thursday afternoon but the main phone rang
unanswered.
The attack was the second in six years on Kromelis. He was
hospitalized for several weeks in 2016 after someone beat him
with a baseball bat. The incident inspired a fundraising drive
for him.
Prosecutors read a statement in court from Kromelis’ sister,
Erika Singree, on Wednesday. Singree died on Sunday, just days
after her 80th birthday, the Tribune reported.
“My heart is broken,” Singree wrote. “My brother just loved
Chicago. He had his routine of walking the streets. He wanted to
be left alone. He never hurt anyone. He was an angel with
wings.”
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