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July 15, 2011

A Young Mother of Two Children is Killed for a Few Hundred Dollars by Her Lover, His Son, and a Hired Killer. She wanted to be a police officer, her lover had been a police officer and an adulterer and if he is convicted of murder his next date might be with someone named Tyrone.

report and commentary by Ed Vincent

The parking lot where the murder happened....
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo

The murder had nothing at all to do with the town or the
location. Those charged did not live or work in River Forest.
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo

Chervon Monique Alexander

The 39-year-old Devin A. Bickham Sr., a suspect in the cold blooded murder of the 29-year-old Chervon Monique Alexander of the 1300 block of Mayfield in Chicago, is a married man and was reported to have been having an extra marital affair with the deceased. We have heard from various reliable sources that she was asking Mr. Devin A. Bickham Sr. to leave his wife, get a divorce and be her man. She had two young children and had studied in college to become a police officer.

Devin A. Bickham Sr., the ex-cop who is reported to have offered a few hundred dollars for someone to kill, not frighten or scare, but take the life of another human being. All three men are being held without bond, Devin A. Bickham Sr. with his son along with the reported shooter of this young woman. All three suspects have been formally charged with first degree murder.

Friends have said that Ms. Alexander had given some indication that she might be wed in a few weeks, in August to Devin A. Bickham Sr.. The parking lot was darkened from the local power outages the evening of her killing as she sat in the car with her beloved.

The prosecutor in this case is Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Maureen O'Brien, she is tough and will not quit until she sees that justice is served. We have known her from previous Oak Park murder cases tried at Maybrook. O'Brien in court told of a jammed .380 semiautomatic pistol (9 mm kurz) used and recovered in the arrest, that shot through the glass after fixing the jammed pistol. Chervon Monique Alexander, next to what she hoped would be her fiancé was shot three times at close range like an animal in a slaughter house. She was shot in her mouth, her shoulder, and her chest.

Chervon Monique Alexander was taken by ambulance to the emergency room of the Loyola Medical Center in Maywood, where she was declared dead a short time after. Devin A. Bickham Sr. the not too bright villain and lover of the victim called the police emergency line after the shooting and gave the police an accurate description of the car used to transport the killer from the scene. He called in Chevrolet Impala car with a gray color heading to Harlem. The police were on the Impala in only 3 minutes, when Oak Park and Forest Park police pulled the car over near Madison and Harlem, recovering the weapon and taking into custody to two men now charged with first degree murder. Devin Ardvell Bickham Jr. and Cardell Taylor could have gotten away if dad did not give an accurate car and direction to the police, perhaps he thought he was a cop again and forgot his new role.

Police first thought that the 39-year-old Devin A. Bickham Sr. was just a witness to the shooting, but when his son was caught and other evidence came out through excellent police work he moved from the witness list to the perp list. When his son was brought before him to identify the genius didn't recognize his son or the car he called in to police.

This tough looking citizen, Mr. Devin A. Bickham Sr. was afraid of a young woman and perhaps his wife too. We no longer have a death penalty in Illinois and he will never have to be afraid of a woman again, that is except for Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Maureen O'Brien, who will take this case to the mat.

Our sympathies go out to all the victims in this case, the children, the friends and the loved ones of all the innocent and hurt people in this horrible tragedy.

July 14, 2011

39-year-old Devin A. Bickham Sr.

20-year-old Devin Ardvell Bickham Jr.

35-year-old Cardell Taylor

NEWS RELEASE
RIVER FOREST POLICE DEPARTMENT
RFPD CASE #11-5849

For Immediate Release Police Chief Gregory Weiss
July 14, 2011

On Thursday, July 14th River Forest Detectives filed charges including First Degree Murder against three men in the shooting death of 29-year-old Chervon Monique Alexander of the 1300 block of Mayfield in Chicago. Alexander was shot to death Monday night (July 11) at approximately 10:22 PM while she was sitting in a car parked in the 7200 block of Division Street.

The three men charged in this case include 39-year-old Devin A. Bickham Sr. and 20-year-old Devin Ardvell Bickham Jr., both of the 12800 block of Division in Blue Island, and 35-year-old Cardell Taylor of the 9400 block of South Lowe in Chicago. All three men are expected to appear at the 4th District Court at Maybrook Square on Friday, July 15th.

According to police reports, the three suspects and the victim were known to each other through personal or family relationships, and none of the parties involved had any other ties to the Village. Police are not seeking any other individuals.
Police Chief Gregory Weiss expressed confidence that this crime, the first homicide in River Forest since 2005, has been solved. “Thanks to the quick and professional response of our officers on the street and the assistance of Forest Park and Oak Park police, the suspects were in custody within minutes,” he said. “Our residents immediately came forward with information, our detectives worked literally around the clock to establish the case, evidence techs from half a dozen neighboring communities processed three complex scenes, and Assistant States Attorneys reviewed the work. The incident is a genuine tragedy for the victim, the suspects and all their families, but I’m very proud that our Department and our resources could bring this case to a quick resolution.”

The public is reminded that a signed complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.