Woman stabbed to death at Evergreen Terrace

JOLIET – A man out on parole was arrested Wednesday on a murder charge after a 20-year-old woman was stabbed to death in a laundry room at Evergreen Terrace.

Joliet Police Chief Brian Benton said officers were called at 8:15 a.m. after the woman was found in the laundry room of the apartment complex at 363 N. Broadway. Benton said it appeared she suffered multiple stab wounds.

The victim was identified by the coroner's office as Joslyn M. Woods of Joliet.

"We interviewed witnesses and reviewed security footage to develop information about a suspect and began trying to locate him," Benton said.

About 11:30 a.m., Drumaine S. McKinley, 35, was found hiding in a grassy area behind houses near his residence in the 1400 block of Washington Street and taken into custody, Benton said.

After being questioned by detectives, McKinley was arrested on a murder charge.

McKinley is on parole from a previous conviction on a firearms charge and has an extensive criminal record.

Benton said Wednesday afternoon the case was still developing and the relationship between McKinley and Woods was unclear. Woods was not a resident of the housing complex.

A statement from Evergreen Terrace management said they were "shocked by this tragedy."

"We place our highest priority on the safety and well-being of our residents and will remain focused on them as this situation continues to develop," the statement read.

Residents watched from windows and doorways Wednesday afternoon as crime scene investigators collected evidence near the rear entrance of the three-story building.

"The laundry area is a large room on the first floor near that entrance. We found a large amount of blood in the room," Benton said.

Toniette Platte, who did not know the victim or suspect, said residents who use the laundry area don't typically linger there.

"I've lived here two years and thought this was a safe place. It's pretty shocking," Platte said.

Since 1998, McKinley, who has also used the alias Jason Lee, has been arrested for aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm, delivery of drugs and aggravated assault, and has been convicted of drug and gun charges seven times.

In July 2000, the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad raided McKinley's house in the 1800 block of Moore Street in Joliet Township to arrest him and his mother, Annette, after receiving numerous complaints about drug activity there, according to Herald-News archives.

The Department of Corrections reports McKinley was two months away from the end of his parole on a six-year sentence for unauthorized possession of a firearm following a 2009 arrest. According to court records, McKinley got married in the courtroom during those criminal proceedings in March 2010.