Man charged with murder, arson in death of woman, 36

Authorities have accused a Roseland man of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 27-year-old woman around the same time that he allegedly shot a 36-year-old woman to death and set her body on fire outside an Englewood garage.

Gregory Hudson, 65, faces felony counts of murder, concealing a homicidal death, aggravated kidnapping, arson and aggravated criminal sexual assault with a firearm, police said.

Chicago firefighters and police were first called to the 6500 block of South Damen Avenue just after midnight on Thursday, according to a police report. There, they found an unidentified woman lying burned outside the garage located at 6539 S. Damen Ave.

A witness told police he’d been in his car at the end of the block when he saw a white box truck circling the block, park near the garage and drive away after several people poured what he thought was gasoline at the front of the garage.

The woman, who had accelerant on her body, had also been shot in the back of the head and her stomach, the report said. An autopsy conducted by the Cook County medical examiner’s office determined that she had died of the gunshot wounds.

Police documents also state that authorities have linked Hudson to an alleged kidnapping and sexual assault against a 27-year-old woman. That alleged attack took place in Roseland within an hour of when authorities arrived on the scene of the fire in Englewood, according to police reports.

Hudson was arrested Thursday afternoon in Morgan Park, police said. He is set to appear at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse Sunday afternoon.