College Student Strangled: Person Of Interest In Custody After Chicago Woman Found Dead In Car

Campus police at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) have a person of interest in custody after a student was found dead Saturday in the backseat of a car that was parked at a campus garage.

Ruth George, 19, a UIC undergraduate, died from strangulation, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

George’s family had reported her missing to campus police after not hearing from her. The Chicago Fire Department reported that paramedics were called Saturday at 11:15 a.m. after calls to 9-1-1 about an unconscious person in the back seat of a car.

George was last seen entering the garage alone on Saturday at 1:30 a.m. The suspect reportedly entered the garage shortly afterward. University police say the suspect has no connection to the university. UIC spokesperson Sherri McGinnis Gonzalez confirmed the suspect was an adult male.

“It is very difficult to find words that can express the sadness our entire community experiences today,” UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis said in a statement. “We offer our sincere condolences to the student’s family and friends and I know that all of us have them in our hearts as they struggle with this devastating loss.”

George was a native of the Chicago suburb of Berwyn.