Chicago transit continues to be wildly dangerous with a repeat offender accused of murdering a sleeping passenger on a train while filming the act.
Prosecutors charged 40-year-old Demetrius Thurman with first-degree murder in the death of 37-year-old Dominique Pollion, who was asleep aboard a Blue Line train early Saturday morning when the attack unfolded.
Court records indicate Pollion had been resting in the train car for nearly an hour and had no interaction with Thurman before the violent attack.
According to court documents, the two men did not know each other, and the attack appeared entirely unprovoked.
Prosecutors allege Thurman approached Pollion from behind around 2:17 a.m., activated his phone’s camera, and stabbed him once in the chest near the heart and once in the abdomen using a knife with a bright-orange handle.
Pollion reportedly woke up screaming and attempted to retreat down the aisle of the train car before collapsing.
Prosecutors said Thurman then exited the train and switched to another line as the victim lay critically wounded.
Emergency responders transported Pollion to a nearby hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Authorities say the entire sequence, from the stabbing to its immediate aftermath, was captured on Chicago Transit Authority surveillance cameras.
Investigators also allege the attack was recorded directly on Thurman’s own phone. Court records state that immediately after stabbing Pollion, Thurman turned the camera toward himself, capturing his face on video.
When the train arrived shortly afterward at the Clark and Lake station, another passenger alerted security officers on the platform.
Prosecutors allege Thurman again turned the camera on himself outside the train car and remarked, “somebody got his a–,” before walking away from the station.
Surveillance footage showing the suspect’s face was later pulled by investigators and submitted to Illinois’ facial recognition system, which prosecutors say led to Thurman’s identification.
Police then issued a bulletin with the suspect’s image. A Chicago police officer who had encountered Thurman just days earlier recognized him, according to court records.
During that prior encounter, the officer said Thurman had been sleeping on a Blue Line train and provided his driver’s license.
Thurman was taken into custody last Sunday. Prosecutors said he was wearing the same clothing seen in the surveillance video at the time of his arrest.
He was also carrying a cellphone that allegedly contained recordings of the stabbing, along with photos of other passengers sleeping on CTA trains.
Court filings also state that Thurman’s cousin identified him as the individual seen in the surveillance footage. Prosecutors further allege Thurman admitted to stabbing Pollion.
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Thurman now faces a first-degree murder charge. Records reviewed by FOX 32 Chicago show his criminal history includes prior arrests for disorderly conduct, driving under the influence, and a traffic arrest in 2023. His next court date is scheduled for Jan. 20.
The killing has renewed scrutiny on safety across Chicago’s transit system, which has been under federal attention following other violent incidents aboard CTA trains.
In November, authorities investigated a shocking attack in which a woman was set on fire aboard a downtown train.
Prosecutors said the 26-year-old victim was riding a CTA train around 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 17 when she was attacked by Lawremce Reed, 50.
According to charging documents, the woman was seated with her back to Reed when he approached, removed the cap from a bottle, and poured a liquid over her head and body before attempting to ignite it.
The complaint states the victim tried to fight off Reed and ran toward the front of the train as Reed lit the bottle in his hand and used it to set her on fire.
Surveillance footage described in court records showed the woman’s body “engulfed in flames” as she attempted to put out the fire by rolling on the ground.
When the train stopped at Clark and Lake, she managed to exit before collapsing on the platform as Reed allegedly walked away.
The woman survived the attack and continues to recover from critical injuries. Reed was taken into custody and charged with terrorism.
Prosecutors also charged him with attempted sexual assault and battery related to another train incident earlier in the year.
Authorities allege Reed also attempted to set Chicago City Hall on fire three days before the train attack and cited an extensive criminal history that includes setting a fire outside the Thompson Center in 2020.
Transit violence concerns were further fueled by a separate court decision involving a repeat offender released without prison time.
A Democrat judge recently released Pierre Thorne, 32, after he pleaded guilty to using a metal bar to smash a stranger’s jaw in a surprise attack in Chicago’s downtown Loop.
Thorne was charged in connection with a December 8, 2022, assault on a 53-year-old man.
Court records say Thorne struck the victim from behind with a metal pipe, knocking him to the ground in a pool of blood and shattering his jaw.
The victim suffered severe injuries, including the loss of several teeth, multiple facial fractures, damage to his nose, lacerations to his face and scalp, and an abrasion to his left eye.
He required multiple reconstructive surgeries and was left permanently disfigured.
Investigators identified Thorne using nearby surveillance footage. Prosecutors told the court he had been arrested and released 57 times by age 30, with numerous misdemeanor convictions, many involving violence.
Despite pleading guilty to aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, Thorne will not serve prison time.
Cook County Circuit Judge Joanne Rosado sentenced him to four years, but a 752-day credit for time served combined with a 50 percent sentence reduction resulted in his immediate release.
