CHICAGO — A man stabbed Julia Martin, 28, to death before taking his own life Friday in Douglas, police said.
Martin, who grew up in Detroit, had broken up with her fiance several months ago and invited him over so she could return her engagement ring to him, her father Derrick Martin told the Chicago Tribune. But when the man came over about 7 p.m. Friday, he allegedly forced open the door and stabbed Martin, according to the Tribune.
The incident happened at Martin's apartment in the 3000 block of South King Drive, said Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police spokesman. After the man, 35, stabbed Martin, he jumped out of the apartment through a window.
After she was stabbed, Martin called and sent text messages to police, her father and friends, saying she needed help, according to the Tribune, but her father didn't see the message she'd left him until later.
Martin and the man were taken to Northwestern Hospital in critical condition and were later pronounced dead, Estrada said.
Martin was pronounced dead at 7:37 p.m., according to Cook County Medical Examiner's Office records. An autopsy showed she died of multiple sharp force injuries in a homicide.
The incident appears to be a murder-suicide, police said.
The man has not been officially identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, but a GoFundMe campaign identified him as Rodney Harvey Jr. The page, which has raised more than $6,000, was started by Harvey's family to help pay for his burial, according to a post to the page. Any extra money that is raised will go to a variety of charities, the family said.
"Rodney Jr. was our first born son," Harvey's family wrote on the campaign's page. "He loved me, his mom, but was sometimes deeply troubled. You never expect someone you love to die so young."
Rodney Harvey's brother, Nick Harvey, said the family created the campaign to help pay for Rodney Harvey's burial and to raise money for three charities that focus on domestic violence, helping people with mental health problems and suicide prevention.
"I would like it to be very clear that my family is very sorry for what happened to Julia," Harvey said in a statement. "She was a beautiful and special woman and did not deserve this."
Harvey declined to name the charities but said his family will post information about them once they've donated money to them. His father, who has worked with non-profit groups for decades, selected them and thinks the groups will "put the money to proper use," Harvey said.
"We understand that there are two victims in this situation," Harvey said. "That is not lost on us, not in the least bit."
Martin's family members could not be reached for comment.
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