The Cook County medical examiner's office has identified the victim as 37-year-old Mary Watkins. According to police, Watkins was found around 6:57 p.m. inside a residence in the 8100-block of South Ellis Avenue unresponsive with multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead on the scene, police said.
Community activist Andrew Holmes said Watkins and her father kept in touch and talked on a regular basis. He was the one who made the discovery Monday evening.
"When he hadn't heard from her in two days, he decided to come over here," Holmes said. "Upon making entry to her apartment, he discovered her body laying in the bedroom."
Holmes said Watkins was not married, had no children and lived alone. It's not known if there were any signs of forced entry.
As more neighbors found out about Watkins' death, they said they did notice police activity in front of the building Monday evening. They said not knowing who could have done this or why has them on heightened alert.
Chicago police say at this point, no one is in custody but they are continuing to investigate. They ask anyone with information about what happened to give them a call.