SOUTH DEERING — The daughter of a 79-year-old South Deering man who died a month after he was allegedly attacked and robbed by a teenager said she hopes the teen will not face murder charges.
J.W. Moore, of the 10200 block of South Bensley Avenue, was allegedly thrown to the ground and robbed at gunpoint by Dalvin Rayford, 18, on Dec. 10 within a block of where Moore lived, police said.
His daughter, Carmen Moore, said her father had hip surgery after the alleged attack but did not do well in rehabilitation. Carmen said her father's health declined, and he was placed in hospice care. He died Monday night, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
Carmen Moore, who lived with her father, said despite what happened, she didn't want Rayford's "life to be over."
"I'm sick that he's going to spend a lot of his life in jail," she said Tuesday. "I can't help it. It's the Christian in me."
A spokesman for the medical examiner's office said the results from an autopsy would not be available until Wednesday. The autopsy will determine what role, if any, the assault played in J.W. Moore's death. It's unclear whether Rayford will face murder charges.
Rayford was arrested after officers chased him through an alley after the attack, police said. Police uncovered a gun, gloves and dark clothing from the teen.
Rayford was charged with armed robbery and ordered held on $300,000 bail. He appeared in court Monday on additional charges of aggravated battery, unlawful restraint and unlawful use of a weapon, court records show.
The incident was the second time in six months J.W. Moore had been robbed, his daughter said. He had just celebrated his 79th birthday on Jan. 9, she said.
Carmen Moore, who said her brother was murdered 19 years ago, said she did not want her father to die as a result of violence.
Despite the circumstances, she said her dad had "a wonderful life."
"My father was crazy," she said. "He was just a colorful person. He knew everyone in the neighborhood."
Carmen Moore described her father as a "a fixture of the neighborhood for 40 years" who would frequently walk down the block to visit friends.
That's something Velma Brown, who delivered J.W. Moore's mail for more than 17 years, echoed.
"Everybody knows Mr. Moore," Brown said, laughing inside the Moore home Tuesday while remembering the man. "Mr. Moore used to say, 'You're my number one mail lady.'"
Carmen Moore said that sounded like her father.
"He would flirt with everybody," she said. "He was in the nursing home, flirting with the nurses until the end."
Carmen Moore said her father left hospice care last week to come home for his 79th birthday. She said a long line of friends had come to visit him before he died Monday.
J.W. Moore is survived by Carmen Moore and three other daughters. Carmen Moore said funeral services are scheduled for Friday.
"I'm going to bury him in overalls," her daughter said, explaining that her father wore them all the time.
"My father said, 'Be sure you bury me in my overalls so everyone can recognize me.'"
