Woman found dead in West Pullman identified

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A 42-year-old woman found dead on Chicago's Far South Side has been identified.

Correna L. Johnson's body was found partially clothed in an empty lot between abandoned homes in the 300-block of East 120th Place in the city's West Pullman neighborhood, the Cook County medical examiner's office said. Authorities did not release her address.

Lovell Blackman told ABC7 Eyewitness News over the phone that he found Johnson, cold and lifeless, around 5 a.m. on July 22.

"First thing I thought of is I need to call 911 and somebody needs to be with me, just in case. This was my first time walking through this area and I just felt like, 'Oh my God, what's this world coming to?'" Blackman said.

Chopper 7HD spotted officers responding to the scene around 5:25 a.m.

Some neighbors said they knew Johnson, who they believe was homeless and didn't have family in the area. They were visibly upset by her death.

"No one deserves to die that way. A life is a life. At the end of the day, her life is valuable, just like anyone else's life is valuable. Someone didn't consider her life valuable and that's the sad truth," said Millicent Savage, who lives in the area.

A team from the Cook County medical examiner's office removed Johnson's body from the scene around 10 a.m. Autopsy results are pending.

Area South detectives are handling the death investigation.