Watch: Reports Say Chicago Man Screamed Anti-Gay Slurs, Fatally Stabbed Victim... and Walked With No Charges

A 30-year-old man screamed anti-LGBTQ slurs at 23-year-old Kenneth Paterimos before stabbing and slashing him multiple times after Paterimos left a bar. The unidentified suspect then told police that he had acted in self-defense – at which point he was allowed to walk free, reports the Chicago Sun Times.

Authorities pointed out that their inquiry into the slaying remains open, implying that they have not dismissed the possibility of charging the suspect at a later date.

Said Chicago police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi: "This is not a declination of charges."

Added the spokesperson: "Our investigation continues."

But Paterimos' family decried the decision to let the suspect walk free.

"He was stabbed in the back. How can they say it was self-defense?" his mother, Diona Bueno, asked.

Reports noted that the pathologist noted a total of eight stab and slash wounds, including to Paterimos' head, neck, back, chest, and arm.

The Chicago Tribune described a celebratory night out for Paterimos and his older brother, 29-year-old Santiago Bueno, a mixed martial arts instructor.

Bueno had received job offers and wanted to take his brothers out on the town. He was at Richard's bar with Paterimos and his other brother (not identified by name in the report) when, the report said, a man who seemed to be drunk bumped into him. After giving Bueno a nasty glare, the account said, the man walked away.

But not long after, the same man had gotten into a scrap with Paterimos, who was on the dance floor. Bueno saw that the man had his younger brother "pinned" to the dance floor. Bueno intervened and, after a scuffle, the man exited the bar.

Paterimos, upset by the incident, left soon after. But the man who had seemingly attacked Paterimos on the dance floor was still just outside the bar, and it wasn't long before Paterimos came stumbling back inside, covered with his own blood.

Bueno related a heartbreaking story to the Tribune:

"I held him for as long as a handful of seconds until I had to realize – which I would never wish any human being to feel – do I hold my brother for his last dying breaths on earth or go find the guy who did this to him?"

Bueno tore outside to confront the assailant and saw him walking away, knife still in his hand. As Bueno approached, he said, the knife-wielding man raised the weapon, but Bueno grabbed his arm and "bent [it]...until he heard it snap," the article related.

The Tribune article said that Paterimos had come out as bisexual not long before he was killed. It's unclear whether this had anything to do with the suspect reportedly screaming an anti-LGBT slur at Paterimos before stabbing and slashing him – something that witnesses confirmed happened. Witnesses also said that the suspect threatened Paterimos before leaving the bar.

Said Bueno, "If he called him a homophobic slur, yeah, you can absolutely look at that as a hate crime."

But no charges – hate crime-related or otherwise – were filed. The suspect was released after he told police he had acted in self defense. Bueno told the Tribune that the way police questioned him made him feel like he was the one being treated as a suspect.

"This is the situation where we have the guy, and we have the weapon, and we know it was in his hands," Bueno said. "I'm telling you this because I caught him."

Local news channel WGN9 reported that the weapon was recovered. It turned out to be a box cutter.

Watch the WGN9 report below.

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