The suspect accused of fatally shooting a man inside his Near North apartment more than two decades ago was escorted to Chicago to face charges on Friday, bringing an international manhunt to an end.
David Barklow was arrested in Peru and extradited from the South American nation to Chicago, police said in a news release. Barklow, now 68, allegedly shot and killed 40-year-old Kent Projansky inside his apartment in the 1100 block of North Dearborn on Dec. 18, 2004.
In the days following the shooting, police responded to a report of a duffel bag that had been found inside a garbage can on the city’s Northwest Side. Inside the duffel bag were bloody clothes and a gun that matched the type of weapon used in Projansky’s killing, police said.
A now-retired officer was monitoring the police radio at the time and notified detectives and forensic personnel about the possible connection to the crime, authorities stated. Personnel from the Illinois State Police Crime Lab processed the duffel bag and determined it was linked to ballistic evidence recovered at the scene.
The case remained cold until 2017, when a now-retired detective resubmitted latent evidence processed at the murder scene, knowing the ISP Crime Lab had recently modernized their examination technology.
The evidence led authorities to identify Barklow, who lived across the street from Projansky at the time of the shooting. Barklow was arrested in October 2019, but was released without charges while “detectives awaited confirmation of a forensic link between Barklow and the evidence recovered in 2004,” police said.
The ISP Crime Lab later determined a forensic link between the suspect, the firearm and clothing found inside the recovered duffel bag, authorities said. Blood found inside the duffel bag also matched the victim.
While police continued to investigate in 2019, Barlow fled the country. Three years later, authorities found out he had moved to Ecuador, and a warrant was secured for first-degree murder and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
In April, detectives learned Barlow had traveled from Ecuador to Peru. The federal government then worked with Peruvian authorities to have him detained, authorities stated.
Barlow was charged with a warrant and felony first-degree murder by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, officials said.
“This investigation highlights the relentless work of CPD’s homicide detectives,” Chicago police said in a news release. “No matter how many years passed, detectives continued to work the case until this offender was in custody. They were determined to pursue justice for Projansky and bring a small measure of closure to his family, who for more than two decades, grieved knowing the offender responsible for the murder of their loved one was living freely.”
Police haven’t released details on a potential motive.
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