Man who killed Chicago's 'Walking Man' in arson attack gets 47 years

CHICAGO - A judge has sentenced an Illinois man convicted of killing a homeless person known as Chicago's "Walking Man" in an arson attack to 47 years in prison.

Prosecutors said that Cook County Judge Timothy Joyce sentenced Joseph Guardia, 30, of suburban Melrose Park on Wednesday after Guardia pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in connection with Joseph Kromelis' death.

Kromelis had long been a fixture in downtown Chicago. He was known for walking the streets of the Loop and for his long, wavy white hair and mustache. He was the subject of news stories and a documentary and once told the Chicago Tribune that he roamed around downtown "as a way of life."

According to prosecutors, Guardia poured gasoline on Kromelis and set him on fire as Kromelis slept under blankets along Lower Wabash Avenue in May 2022. Kromelis sustained severe burns that covered more than half of his body. He died that December at age 75.

Guardia said he didn't realize a person was under the blankets. Prosecutors countered that Kromelis' head and lower legs were visible. Guardia's only explanation as to his motive was that he was "an angry person."

The Cook County Public Defender's Office's represented Guardia. The office said in a statement to the Tribune that Guardia is mentally ill. His attorneys had tried to work out a deal with prosecutors that would have called for him to plead guilty but mentally ill but without success, the statement said.

The Associated Press called the public defender's office seeking comment late Thursday afternoon but the main phone rang unanswered.

The attack was the second in six years on Kromelis. He was hospitalized for several weeks in 2016 after someone beat him with a baseball bat. The incident inspired a fundraising drive for him.

Prosecutors read a statement in court from Kromelis’ sister, Erika Singree, on Wednesday. Singree died on Sunday, just days after her 80th birthday, the Tribune reported.

"My heart is broken," Singree wrote. "My brother just loved Chicago. He had his routine of walking the streets. He wanted to be left alone. He never hurt anyone. He was an angel with wings."