Chicago man charged with killing his 84-year-old mother on South Side, police say
CHICAGO - A Chicago man was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 84-year-old mother on the city’s Far South Side earlier this year.
Prosecutors detailed how he allegedly brutally beat the woman, causing injuries comparable to a car crash.
What we know:
Joseph Ruiz, 51, was charged with first-degree murder and murder with a strong probability of death/injury, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Joseph Ruiz (Chicago Police Department)
The 84-year-old victim was found dead on March 13, 2026, in a home in the 11000 block of S. Washtenaw Ave. in Morgan Park. The woman, identified as Benilda Ruiz, died from multiple injuries and assault, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The victim was Ruiz's mother, according to prosecutors.
‘Acting erratically’
The backstory:
On March 8, Ruiz was seen by a neighbor yelling at his mother in front of their house. He also allegedly "roughly grabbed her by the arm," and moved her into a car. He later threw a bag of jewelry onto the sidewalk and a neighbor later saw a pile of women's clothes piled up near the bottom stoop of the front steps.
Neighbors said Ruiz was acting "erratically" the week of the murder, according to prosecutors. A neighbor called for a wellbeing check on the victim.
On March 12, Ruiz called 911 and said his mother was on the ground and needed an ambulance. But when officers arrived, Ruiz went outside to speak with them and they never entered the house. They did see the clothes and other items outside.
The next day, on March 13, Ruiz again called 911 and told the dispatcher his mother had died the night before and asked for an ambulance.
Paramedics arrived and found the victim dead, covered in a blanket and cold to the touch. They also saw evidence of bruising on her.
Ruiz told them that he and his mother had "gotten into it" and later said he "didn't break her neck."
Police were called to the scene and spoke to Ruiz, who said his mother had been alive the day before, and he had been with her the whole time.
Later that day, officers returned to the home after Ruiz had been seen acting erratically in the front yard. He was hospitalized for psychiatric treatment. Days later, he told a social worker at the hospital that his mother had a "crushed windpipe" and that was the reason he could not do CPR on her.
The Medical Examiner determined Ruiz's mother died due to an assault, had numerous scrapes on her body, ligatures on her neck, bruising and cuts inside her mouth, possibly from suffocation. She also had bruising across her upper and lower body and "massive blunt force trauma," including a crushed chest and multiple liver cuts.
Multiple bones were also broken, including her ribs, spine, clavicle, and collar bone. She had hemorrhaging inside her head and blunt force trauma to her brain.
The Medical Examiner said the injuries were so severe, it was comparable to if she had been hit by a car, prosecutors said.
Ruiz was arrested on Thursday and charged.
Prosecutors said Ruiz had three prior domestic battery-related arrests in 2012, 2017 and 2018. The victim in those cases was not his mother.
He also appeared to have warrants for domestic battery and invasion of privacy in Indiana and other warrants out of North Carolina.
What's next:
A county judge on Saturday ordered Ruiz detained as he awaits trial.