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Slain Riverdale Man Knew His Killer, Says Brother, a Burge Torture Survivor

By Evan F. Moore | January 28, 2016 5:32am
 Darrell Cannon points to the bullet holes left in his back door.
Darrell Cannon
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RIVERDALE — Darrell Cannon has a routine of fixing a meal for himself before going to work each day.

Before he got his day started Tuesday, he says he felt a chill in the house he shares with his older brother, Claude.

Cannon, who spent more than 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, went downstairs to the kitchen to see if the back door was open. 

Instead, he found his 76-year-old brother laying in pool of blood. He was shot to death in the home in the 13200 block of South Riverdale Avenue. Now he wonders how long his brother — with whom he had lived on and off for the past four years — was laying there.

"The thing that continuously haunts me is that was he alive when I got home? That's something I'll never get an answer to," Cannon, 65, said. "We were in the same house together and the only difference was that his situation was deadly."

 Darrell Cannon found his brother, Claude (photo) dead near the back door of the home they shared. 
Darrell Cannon found his brother, Claude (photo) dead near the back door of the home they shared. 
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DNAinfo/Evan F. Moore

Chicago Police officers said Tuesday they found Cannon's brother while conducting a well-being check, but Cannon says he was the one who found his brother.

Officer Kevin Quaid, a Chicago Police spokesman, told DNAinfo Wednesday night when officers conduct a well-being check it doesn't necessarily mean that they are the first ones to discover a body.

Cannon believes his brother knew who killed him.

"Look at this area. Who would know to come back here? This was somebody he knew," Cannon said. "Why would a stranger pick this house over any of the others around the way? Why come to this particular house? Somebody knew."

He still wonders why his brother was killed.

"That's the million dollar question. Why someone would kill my brother is something I have yet to comprehend," Cannon said. "I'm hoping that someone, somewhere will shed some light on this.

Cannon has strong words for the person or people responsible for his brother's death.

"Whomever killed my brother is a coward and a despicable human being," Cannon added. "What could my brother have done for someone to be so vicious to kill him so recklessly?"

Since word of Cannon's death has gotten out, neighbors and friends have stopped by to offer their condolences.

"Neighbors and friends came down and prayed with me and cried with me," Cannon said. "They knew my brother. It's mystery why he was killed."

Cannon knows more about tough times than most. He was one of the men the city compensated after spending 24 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. His confession was coerced by former Chicago Police commander Jon Burge. While Cannon was in prison, he says his brother stayed in touch with him while giving him encouragement along the way.

"I never gave up fighting for my freedom. My brother was extremely proud of me. He would come see me from time to time," Cannon said. "Every time I turned around, he would smile and say  'Go little brother! Get down!' "

Cannon said that brother was a limo driver for years. Before that, he worked on the wait staff at Hawthorne Race Course in suburban Cicero. 

"My brother was a carefree individual. He was the life of the party," Cannon said. "He would walk into a party telling jokes and signifying. His mindset made you think that he was the life of the party."

Cannon also said that his brother, who was nicknamed "Papa C" and "Uncle Bubba" by people in the neighborhood, had prostate cancer.

"He was about taking his medicine and trying to do the best he could each and every day," Cannon said. "He and I started to go places together. He didn't have a car and he couldn't drive."

Cannon calmly rejected the notion that the settlement he got from the city may have something to do with his brother's death. He also encouraged whoever is responsible for his brother's death to come forward. 

"No. Why would someone kill my brother for something I got? Somebody, somewhere knows," Cannon said. "Whether they talk about it ... I don't know. We have to wait for the police to do their jobs."

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