$1M bond for man in stabbing death of ex-girlfriend’s new beau
BY MICHAEL LANSU AND ALLISON HORTON Staff Reporters September 1, 2013 1:36PM
Oliver Spann. Photo/Chicago Police
Updated: September 1, 2013 5:27PM
Bond was set at $1 million Sunday for a 27-year-old man accused of stabbing his former girlfriend’s new lover to death on a West Humboldt Park sidewalk last week.
Oliver Spann allegedly stabbed 51-year-old Elvis Canfield to death on a sidewalk in the 3900 block of West Division Street about 12:20 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said.
Spann had two children with the woman before the couple broke up in June and she began dating Canfield, according to court documents. Prosecutors said the woman still lived with Spann, but his public defender described him as homeless.
The night of the attack, Canfield was outside talking with his girlfriend and another male when Spann began “lurking around” and later asked the group for a cigarette, said Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Joe Crocker.
When nobody offered a cigarette, Spann walked away and Canfield began walking home, Crocker said. Minutes later, Spann approached Canfield on a bicycle.
Spann threw Canfield to the ground and began stabbing him within sight of the woman, who pushed Spann off Canfield, Crocker said. Spann then looked at Canfield and said, “NOW B----,” according to court documents.
The woman saw blood on Canfield and saw Spann holding a knife she recognized from her home, Crocker said.
Canfield, of the 1100 block of North Pulaski, died a short time later at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy determined Canfield died from a stab wound to the chest.
Spann, of the 700 block of North Trumbull, fled on the bicycle before police arrived, according to court documents.
Police recovered the bike about five or six blocks away from the crime scene, but he wasn’t arrested until 8 p.m. Friday at a church in the 3700 block of West Ogden Avenue, authorities said.
During a Sunday bond hearing, Cook County Judge Donald Panarese ordered Spann held on $1 million bond. He will be back in court again Tuesday.
A public defender said Spann, a former ward of the state, is unemployed and only working “odd jobs.” He has an 11th grade education and four children.
