Chicago Man Charged With Murder in Death of His 88-Year-Old Mother

Kevan Works, 66, was arrested Tuesday and charged with one felony count of first-degree murder and one felony count of concealing the death of a person, officials said.

Audrey Simons

Published: 4/10/2026, 6:38:08 PM EDT

Chicago Man Charged With Murder in Death of His 88-Year-Old Mother — Kevan Works. (Courtesy of Chicago Police Department)

A Chicago man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of his elderly mother, who was reported missing after being last seen in late March.

The 88-year-old woman, identified in a missing person report as Daniest Graves, was found dead on Tuesday in her Roseland home on the 10700 block of South Lafayette, according to a press release from the Chicago Police Department.

Kevan Works, 66, who also lived at the residence, was identified as the offender responsible for her death and taken into custody around 11:20 a.m. on the same day, officials said.

"The offender was placed into custody on scene and subsequently charged accordingly," the department said. "No additional information is available at this time."

Graves was discovered wrapped in a rug, plastic bags, and a sweater in the basement of her home, CBS News reported, citing police scanner traffic. She suffered multiple injuries consistent with a physical assault, and her death was ruled a homicide following an autopsy by the Cook County Medical Examiner, the outlet said.

NTD reached out to the Chicago Police Department, which did not provide any information beyond the press release, and the Cook County Medical Examiner, which did not respond by the time of publication.

Prior to his arrest, Works had posted on social media several times about his mother being missing.

"Please help me find my mom she’s been missing since March 27th," he wrote on April 3, alongside her missing persons report. Two days later, on April 5, he captioned a photo of Graves: "I miss my mom."

According to the missing person flyer, Graves suffered from a range of health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and circulation issues.

Her other son, Michael Works, told ABC7 that he was devastated by the loss.

"It crushes you," he said. "But she'll live on as long as you remember for the good that she did and she was true to heart and anybody who knows her will say it in a minute."

Kevan Works's son, McNemon Vincent, shared a similar sentiment, telling the station: "She's one of those people that the world has lost, not just us. She was just amazing."

Works now faces one felony count of first-degree murder and one felony count of concealing the death of a person. He was due in court Friday for a detention hearing, though the outcome was not immediately known. NTD reached out to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office for comment, but a response was not received by publication time.