051 Melly was the street name of Yarmel Williams, a 27-year-old Chicago man who was shot and killed at a house party in the Woodlawn neighborhood on September 1, 2019. He was associated with a Chicago street faction commonly referred to as 051 Young Money. His killing wounded a second person and remains unsolved.1Chicago Sun-Times. Man Killed, Woman Wounded in Shooting at Woodlawn Party
What Happened at the Woodlawn Party
The shooting took place at about 2:45 a.m. inside a residence in the 6100 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue, on Chicago’s South Side. Williams was attending a house party when someone there opened fire. He was struck multiple times and taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide.1Chicago Sun-Times. Man Killed, Woman Wounded in Shooting at Woodlawn Party
A 34-year-old woman at the party was also shot, hit in the foot. She took herself to St. Bernard Hospital and was reported in good condition.1Chicago Sun-Times. Man Killed, Woman Wounded in Shooting at Woodlawn Party
Why the Case Is Still Unsolved
Chicago police described witnesses at the party as uncooperative. Investigators were unable to obtain a description of the shooter or shooters, and no arrests were announced in the initial reporting. As of 2026, no one has been charged in connection with Williams’s death and no public developments have been reported.1Chicago Sun-Times. Man Killed, Woman Wounded in Shooting at Woodlawn Party
The absence of a suspect description, the house party setting, and the silence of those present follow a pattern familiar to Chicago homicide investigators working gang-related killings on the South Side, where fear of retaliation and distrust of police routinely stall cases.
Williams’s Prior Criminal History
Williams had encountered the criminal justice system before his death. In February 2018, a 26-year-old Chicago man named Yarmel Williams was charged with a felony for the theft of two vehicles from a residence in Hinsdale, a suburb west of Chicago.2Daily Herald. Crime Reports
The Chicago Gang Context
Williams’s killing happened against a shifting gang landscape in Chicago. Former Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown has described roughly 55 major gangs and 2,500 subset factions citywide, with “several hundred gang conflicts every day.” Roberto Aspholm, an assistant professor at the University of St. Thomas and author of Views From the Streets, has characterized the modern scene as independent, neighborhood-based groups rather than the hierarchical organizations that dominated in earlier decades.3WTTW News. Critics Say Chicago Police Need to Rethink Tracking Gang Members, Curbing Violence That fragmentation is part of why killings like Williams’s are difficult to predict, prevent, or solve.