Man convicted of Christmas Eve killing in Kenwood dies in prison
A convicted killer sentenced to life in prison for a Christmas Eve slaying outside a chicken restaurant has died, authorities said.
Lee Cration died Thursday at the Menard Correctional Center, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. A spokesperson could not provide details on the cause of death. Cration died exactly a week before his 62nd birthday.
A Cook County judge sentenced Cration to life in prison in 2011, two years after prosecutors said he targeted Ralph Elliott, 79, outside a Popeye’s restaurant at 818 E. 47th St. in Kenwood.
Prosecutors said Cration, who was on parole for a 1984 murder at the time, didn’t say a word when he shot Elliott twice and rifled through his pockets, which was captured on the restaurant’s surveillance camera. Cration was still on the streets despite an active arrest warrant for repeatedly failing to comply with his parole, authorities said.
Elliott, a retired state employee and beloved community volunteer who had been married for 54 years, left his Hyde Park apartment that Christmas Eve to pick up chicken for their family party when he was killed.
In sentencing Cration to life, Judge James Linn told him, “You have a heart that is malignant and a soul that is depraved.”
