Who Killed Ruthie Mae McCoy? [Unresolved Murder]

Who Killed Ruthie Mae McCoy? [Unresolved Murder]

On the night of April 22, 1987, Ruthie Mae McCoy called 911 to report that someone was breaking into her apartment in the Chicago projects through her bathroom mirror — but no one came to her aid. Even after she called the police two more times, her cries for help went ignored. 

Two days later, she was found dead in her apartment, lying in a pool of her own blood with one shoe on and one shoe off. Her story helped to inspire the 1992 horror classic "Candyman," in which a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand travels through mirrors in the Chicago projects. 

See the photos and discover the full true story that inspired "Candyman," and more horrifying urban legends with roots in reality by clicking the link in our bio.

RUTHIE MAE MCCOY, 52. Also known as “Miss Mae.”

MCCOY lived in Chicago’s ABLA housing projects in a section called the Grace Abbott Homes. She had lived in 11th floor unit #1109 since 1983. 

INCIDENT

At 8:45 PM on April 22, 1987, MCCOY called 911 to report that an intruder had “throwed the cabinet down” and was trying to get in through her bathroom medicine cabinet. The dispatcher wasn’t quite sure what that meant so dispatched a car at 8:47 PM to a “disturbance with a neighbor” complaint and not a higher-priority break-in attempt. At 9:02 PM no officers had arrived; at that time a neighbor called to report hearing gunshots from #1109. Another neighbor reported nearly the same at 9:04 PM. 

Police arrived on scene at 9:10 PM. They knocked on the door but didn’t receive an answer, so they asked dispatch to dial MCCOY’S phone. Through the door they heard the phone ring repeatedly without an answer. They tried to get a key from the project’s office to no avail. Hesitant to break the door down, they left at 9:48 PM. 

The next evening (April 23), a neighbor friend of MCCOY’S called 911 about MCCOY. MCCOY would often stop by the friend’s apartment on her way in and out, but she did not show up that day. Having seen the police at #1109 the night before, the friend was worried. Police and Chicago Housing Authority security responded and still received no answer at the door. Security guards discouraged the door from being broken down because of a possible lawsuit. The police left once again. The next afternoon (April 24), the friend goes to notify the project office of the situation. They responded by drilling in MCCOY’s lock, where they found her dead in the bedroom from 4 gunshot wounds. 

INVESTIGATION

As it turned out, the ABLA projects had a weird architectural anomaly in that certain apartments connected to one another via a pipe chase behind the bathroom cabinets of each. This design was intended to provide easy access to plumbing fixtures if maintenance was needed. In some cases, apartments above and below each other connected as well. 

Unfortunately, this also provided easy access for burglars and other nefarious characters to other units, as the bathroom medicine cabinets were easily removable from each end. So one could simply remove the cabinet from the wall of the apartment they were in, crawl through the pipe chase, and push in the cabinet of the unit they were trying to access. Break-ins via this method had been going on in the ABLA projects for some time. To the extent where residents would put furniture in front of their bathroom doors or tie them with rope before going to bed. 

MCCOY’s apartment, #1109, was connected to #1108, from where it was ascertained the intruders came that night. #1108 was being rented at the time, but it was not occupied by the actual renter of record. It was a frequent practice (although against regulations) for drug dealers to “sublet” them or to squat in vacant ones to carry out their activities. 

SUSPECTS

Eventually arrested were 2 suspects - fellow ABLA residents EDWARD TURNER, 19, and JOHN HONDRAS, 22. They were charged with murder, home invasion, armed robbery, and residential burglary.

EVIDENCE

The main witness was TIM BROWN, who made a statement the day after MCCOY’S body was found:

He and COREY FLOURNOY had been handing out in #1108 for most of the day in question. They were later joined by a RONALD COLEMAN, HONDRAS, and TURNER. 

COLEMAN showed HONDRAS how the adjacent apartment (1109) could be entered through the medicine cabinet. COLEMAN and FLOURNOY left soon after and then it was just BROWN, HONDRAS, and TURNER. BROWN witnessed HONDRAS and TURNER break into #1109 through the medicine cabinet and heard several gunshots. TURNER emerged holding a TV and HONDRAS a rocking chair and they disappeared. 

They returned 2-3 hours later to retrieve shell casings and allegedly had entered #1109 through the main door, having purposely left it unlatched earlier. (The TV and rocking chair were later recovered by authorities and identified as belonging to MCCOY.)

However, he had given a previous story to authorities first trying to claim he and FLOURNOY were not there on April 22 (later disproven), that #1109 wasn’t broken into until 11:30 PM (disproven by 911 calls), and that the door had been left unlocked – the police would’ve been able to go in if that were true.

In any case, due to lack of physical evidence, witness testimony was basically all authorities had to rely on. It was obvious that in the days between when MCCOY was killed and her body was found, the perpetrators had returned to the apartment to clean up. One bullet and one shell casing were found (inconsistent with the # of wounds), and the apartment had obviously been wiped of fingerprints. Also, MCCOY’s phone was missing when police had definitely heard it ringing through the door while they had been on scene that night. 

Her bathroom cabinet was nowhere to be found – it’s unclear if she had one in the first place or if it had been taken. The cabinet in #1108, by the time detectives got to it, seemed secure, but could’ve easily been nailed back in place by then. 

TRIAL

The trial started in March of 1990. BROWN changed his story during his testimony. He was fingering HONDRAS still, but said it was COLEMAN who broke into #1109 instead of TURNER; he claimed TURNER remained on the couch in #1108 the whole time. 

SONYA MOORE (TURNER’S girlfriend) testified that at 10:30 PM on April 22, TURNER came to her apartment and bragged that he shot someone. 

LYNETTE FITCH (BROWN’S girlfriend in 1987) testified that HONDRAS and TURNER came to her door at 2:00 AM on April 23 with a rocking chair and TV wanting to store them in her apartment. She didn’t let them. 

THEOLA ARCHIBALD (HONDRAS’S girlfriend in 1987), testified that HONDRAS and TURNER came to her apartment at 3:30 AM on April 23 with a rocking chair and TV. She let them leave the items there. 

TURNER testified in his own defense. He said he was in #1108 when he heard several gunshots next door. He ran down to the lobby. HONDRAS came down alone 30 minutes after everyone else. He had only been trying to “brag” to MOORE when he said he shot someone, he hadn’t meant it. At 2:00 AM he went back to the hallway of 1108/1109 and saw a TV sitting outside. A“BELDER” was coming out of #1108 with a rocking chair. BELDER asked for help with carrying either item. TURNER notified #1109’s door ajar and so he took a peek in. He saw a body in a bedroom. He came back out to help with the TV. HONDRAS came out of 1108. BELDER put down the rocking chair and walked away. HONDRAS picked up the chair. He acknowledged going around to the various apartments after trying to stash the items. 

At the end of that cluster, both TURNER and HONDRAS were found not guilty. 

SO...

I just thought this was interesting because, it's extremely creepy to think of an apartment with that type of setup. (The movie Candyman references the incident pretty directly.)

Unfortunately we will never know who did what, most likely, but I would say it's a definite that HONDRAS was involved. To what extent any of the others were who were all hanging out in #1108, who knows? As usual, people like this can do the crime but can't do the time so they all turn on each other. 

It's unsettling that people can admit to having handled stolen property of a dead person, and having seen her dead body (just a body, NBD, right?) and getting off completely free. 

The police response was pretty deplorable, unfortunately. 

SOURCES (Really

https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/they-came-in-through-the-bathroom-mirror/Content?oid=871084

https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/cause-of-death/Content?oid=875995