Marilyn Duffie

Marilyn Duffie lived much of her life within the rhythms of family and neighborhood on Chicago’s Far South Side. In the months before her death she had been staying with her cousin; court records in the matter surrounding her 2016 death note that Duffie had recently moved into her cousin’s apartment after a period of homelessness. Those facts point to a person trying to find steady footing and relying on family ties during a difficult time.

Public records describing the evening of October 18, 2016, make plain that Marilyn was part of a close household life, sharing space with relatives and neighbors in the Concordia/Eden Green apartment complex on the Far South Side. Multiple witness accounts collected for later court proceedings recall everyday details — conversations in hallways, interactions with neighbors, and the ordinary neighborliness of people who knew one another’s comings and goings. An autopsy later confirmed she died from a gunshot wound on October 18, 2016.

Beyond the limited public record available, few reliable sources publish personal details such as education, employment, or hobbies for Marilyn. That scarcity of public detail should not be read as a lack of importance; rather, it reflects that many lives are lived largely within family and community circles that do not always appear in public archives. The records that do exist show a young woman connected to relatives, navigating hard circumstances, and known to neighbors and family members who appear in later public accounts.

Marilyn’s life — like so many others reduced in public documents to a short entry — was more than the circumstances recorded in court files and news reports. She was a person who sought shelter and support among family, who moved through ordinary neighborhood spaces, and whose life had meaning for those who crossed her path. Remembering Marilyn means acknowledging those human ties and the fact that she was someone’s relative, neighbor, and fellow community member. Her death on October 18, 2016 is part of the historical record; what endures beyond that record is the fact that she mattered to people who knew her personally.