Matarimo Houpe | Chicago police
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A week ago, Matarimo Haupe was living in Springfield and working her way through nursing school.
The 35-year-old mother had never been arrested before. Now she's charged with killing a man, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Her hair in long braids and wearing a gray hoodie and black pants, Houpe sobbed when she appeared for a hearing Friday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Cook County prosecutors have accused Houpe of firing two shots outside a funeral repast Wednesday evening in Washington Park. Both missed their target, but one struck 30-year-old Andrew Owens as he stood at a nearby corner.
Owens was rushed to University of Chicago Medical Center with a gunshot wound to his face, but he was pronounced dead less than 24 hours later, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner's office said.
Houpe was charged with first-degree murder.
Prosecutors said Houpe and Owens were attending the same repast when Houpe got into an argument with the father of her child.
Houpe followed the man as he got into a car and began to drive away, then turned to her sister and demanded, "Mickey, give me my s—," prosecutors said.
Houpe's sister allegedly handed her a pink CPX-1 handgun manufactured by SCCY Firearms, which calls itself the "King of Concealed Carry" on its website. Police said Friday that Houpe had a valid FOID card and a license to carry a concealed gun.
Prosecutors said the car had already made a left turn and was gone by the time Houpe raised the weapon, extended her arm and pulled the trigger twice. Two 9-mm shell casings fell the ground.
Owens, struck in his left eye, suddenly collapsed.
Officers responded moments later and found the gun near a light post in the 6100 block of South Indiana Avenue, according to police records.
Authorities said Houpe remained at the scene and admitted to officers that the gun was hers and that she had fired it. Houpe allegedly gave an a additional video-recorded statement while in custody, including that she was trying to aim at the vehicle's tires as it drove away.
Prosecutors said she had never been arrested before.
An assistant public defender for Houpe said she had a 17-year-old son, was living in Springfield and working at a nursing home. She was enrolled in college, where she was studying for a degree in nursing.
Looking at Houpe in the eyes, Judge David Navarro noted she had no previous criminal history and that she had stayed at the scene after the shooting. But, he said, that was only part of what he had to consider in setting her bail. Now, she was also looking at a possible sentence of life in prison.
Bail was denied.