Melissa D Grilli: Chicago woman, 34, found dead with arms and legs tied in alley a week after jail release
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Chicago police launched a death investigation when a woman’s partially clothed body was found tied up in a Near West Side alley on Sunday morning. The woman was identified on Monday by the Cook County medical examiner’s office as Melissa D Grilli, 34, from South Gunderson Avenue, Berwyn.
An anonymous caller dialed 911 at about 8.30 am the previous day, and reported that her body was in an alley in the 2600 block of West Gladys Avenue, according to police spokeswoman Kellie Bartoli. Following Monday's autopsy, the medical examiner’s office marked her cause and manner of death as pending further investigation.
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Who was Melissa D Grilli?
Melissa D Grilli — also known by her alias Melissa Dawn — is lovingly remembered by her family. A close one who reached out to MEAWW said she “was a funny, smart and creative girl who was adored by her family.” The police department's inmate details describe her as 5'6" tall.
Her body was found six days later, ‘tied up from her legs, arms and wrists,’ Bartoli wrote in an email, as reported by the Chicago Tribune. Grilli was bound across her thighs with a tied cloth rope and her wrists were bound with clothing, according to a preliminary police report. On January 21, 2021, she was charged with a misdemeanor for driving on a revoked license and drug possession. Her bond amounts to $10,000. According to Will County records, Grilli was released from Will County Jail on March 8 at 1.34 pm, six days before her body was found.
How did Melissa D Grilli die?
Police spokeswoman Jose Jara said she “was found tied up from her legs, arms and wrists,” in an email to Chicago Sun-Times. According to reports, Bartoli said the caller found the woman’s body after going into the alley to throw out the garbage in a remote area behind some homes, near the Eisenhower Expressway.
The case is being treated as a death investigation. Reports said there was a blanket over the semi-clad woman and that there were no obvious signs of physical injury. However, there was a smell of bleach coming from the woman’s body. Police did not answer questions about the woman’s description or if she matched the description of any missing persons. It is unclear how the woman came to end up being ‘dumped’ in the alley and who placed her there, or their possible involvement in the woman’s cause of death.
According to Romeoville spokesman Kenneth Kroll, the Romeoville Police Department has been in communication with CPD regarding the investigation. A report by Chicago Sun-Times quoted Berwyn Police Chief Michael D Cimaglia saying CPD has not contacted his department for information.
We will update this space with the latest developments in the case.
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this article wrongly claimed that Melissa was charged with homicide or a sex offense. The error has been corrected now and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.