A man has been charged with murder after allegedly killing another passenger during a stabbing on a Chicago train over the weekend. Prosecutors claim that Demetrius Thurman, 40, recorded the attack and what followed on his cellphone.
According to reports, the victim, Dominique Pollion, 37, was sleeping on a Blue Line train early Saturday morning when Thurman approached him without any prior interaction. Court documents indicate that Pollion had been resting peacefully for almost an hour before the assault.
Thurman reportedly approached Pollion from behind around 2:17 a.m., started recording, and then stabbed him twice—once in the chest near the heart and once in the abdomen—with a knife that had a bright orange handle.
Pollion woke up screaming and attempted to escape before collapsing. After the attack, Thurman changed trains. Unfortunately, Pollion was taken to a nearby hospital but later died from his injuries.
Prosecutors mentioned that CTA surveillance footage captured both the assault and its aftermath, in addition to the video from Thurman’s cellphone.
After the stabbing, Thurman is said to have filmed himself, mentioning that “someone got hit” before leaving the station. Authorities later used images from surveillance footage and a facial recognition program to identify him.
Thurman was arrested on Sunday, found in the same clothing seen in the videos and possessing a cellphone containing recordings of the stabbing as well as photos of other passengers asleep on the train.
Prosecutors also reported that a cousin of Thurman identified him from the surveillance footage, and he subsequently admitted to the stabbing. Now facing first-degree murder charges, his past includes incidents of disorderly conduct and drunk driving.
The next court date is set for January 20th. Recent crimes against Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) services have drawn heightened federal attention, especially following a serious incident where a woman was set on fire on a train.
