Ronald Macon

Case overview

Ronald Macon was convicted of three murders and one criminal sexual assault in 2003.

Status and sentencing

Ronald Macon was sentenced for life in prison on September 15, 2003, for killing the three women. He was also sentenced to 30 years for raping a 65-year-old woman.

Timeline

• January 13, 1998 — Ronald Macon was arrested for Retail Theft (Felony).
• July 20, 1998 — Ronald Macon was arrested for Defacing Property (Felony).
• September 8, 1998 — Ronald Macon was arrested for Retail Theft (Felony).
• February 18, 1999 — A 43-year-old woman was found murdered; her body was discovered on the 100 block of East 45th Street; DNA evidence was recovered.
• April 4, 1999 — A 35-year-old woman was found murdered; she was choked and beaten to death with an electrical box on the 5900 block of South Damen Ave.; DNA evidence was recovered.
• June 21, 1999 — A woman was found murdered; she was choked and raped, her hands and feet were bound with shoelaces, and then she was strangled to death with a strap from a bag; her body was discovered on the 400 block of East 69th Street; DNA evidence was recovered.
• August 9, 1999 — Ronald Macon was arrested for Criminal Sexual Assault of a 65-year-old woman; a knife was placed to the victim’s neck and jewelry and money were demanded; a cord was wrapped around her hands; he led her into the bedroom and raped her.
• October 12, 1999 — Ronald Macon was charged with three counts of first-degree murder while awaiting trial in a rape case.
• September 15, 2003 — Ronald Macon was sentenced to life in prison for killing the three women and sentenced to 30 years for raping a 65-year-old woman.

The offence

Murders linked to serial killing investigation

Ronald Macon was charged with three counts of first-degree murder connected to killings of women in Chicago neighborhoods.

• Angelnetta Peeples, 43 — was found in an abandoned building on Feb. 20; she had been strangled and hit on the head.
• Linda Soloman, 36 — was found on April 14 in a stairwell; she had been strangled and hit on the head.
• Rosezina Williams, 50 — was strangled and her body was found in a trash container on June 21.

The authorities said Ronald Macon had confessed to the three killings.

Criminal sexual assault of a 65-year-old woman

Ronald Macon placed a knife to the victim’s neck and demanded her jewelry and money. Ronald Macon then wrapped a cord around her hands, led her into the bedroom, and raped her.

Investigation

Police said DNA evidence from a string of unsolved killings and rapes had led them to Ronald Macon. Chicago police were puzzled at why a DNA sample from Ronald Macon was not contained in a computerized DNA databank designed to help detectives sex crimes, while Ronald Macon was in Cook County Jail on charges that he raped his former baby-sitter.

Arrest and charges

Ronald Macon was arrested for a felony charge on three separate occasions in 1998:

• January 13, 1998 — Retail Theft (Felony)
• July 20, 1998 — Defacing Property (Felony)
• September 8, 1998 — Retail Theft (Felony)

Ronald Macon was in jail in a rape case and was charged with three counts of first-degree murder while awaiting trial.

On October 12, 1999, the police said Ronald Macon had confessed to the three killings. He was already being held in lieu of $1.25 million bond in a rape case. The authorities said he could face the death penalty if convicted of murder.

Trial and outcomes

On September 15, 2003, he received:

• life in prison for killing the three women
• 30 years for raping a 65-year-old woman

Other details

Statements and verbatim quotes

Comdr. Frank Trigg of the Police Department said: "Mr. Macon had confessed to the three killings."

Assistant State's Attorney Pat McGuire said: "witnesses told police the last person seen with Peeples was a man named 'Ron.'"

Jail and bond details

Ronald Macon had been in Cook County Jail since August 9 on unrelated sexual assault charges. In October 1999, it was stated that he was awaiting trial in a rape case and had been in jail since August.

Additional narrative detail

The victims were described as being killed in Englewood and Washington Park neighborhoods. The investigations were described as continuing in a neighborhood where at least 10 similar slayings had occurred over the last six years. It was also stated that nine murders and three sexual assaults remained unsolved in another context involving killings of South Side women since 1993.

In the 1999 reporting, it was said that Ronald Macon strangled the three women on the South Side after buying crack cocaine for them and having sex with them. It was also stated that their investigations would continue in neighborhoods with many similar slayings, and that there were unsolved killings and rapes.

Victim count

Three women were killed in the Macon case.