MAN KILLED AS DAUGHTER DROPS HIM OFF AT WORK

Man slain as daughter drops him off at work: 'This is the last place you'd expect'(old but still saddening)

Edward Wright sipped his coffee and wondered why someone would be shot to death on this block of warehouses in Back of the Yards where he works.

"This is ridiculous," Wright said as he stood with others waiting for the crime scene to clear so they could get to work early Thursday. "This is the last place you'd expect."

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Relatives say Elijah Murphy, 38, was being dropped off by his daughter at his warehouse job in the 4200 block of South Racine Avenue around 4:45 a.m. when two masked men got out of a car and opened fire.

Murphy was hit in the chest and the head and was pronounced dead at 5:15 a.m. on the scene, according to the medical examiner. Police said a dark-colored SUV was seen speeding from the area.  No one was in custody.

Relatives on the scene said it appeared Murphy had been targeted but had no idea why.  "They had no reason to be there," a brother-in-law said.  

Murphy's mother sobbed as she got out of a car and made her way to her son's body.  

"They killed my baby," she yelled.

She was among a group of the family members and friends who embraced each other as they stood near the crime tape.  A toddler cradled by a woman repeatedly said, "Daddy."

Evidence markers were strewn across the street. Officers inspected a car parked near City Foods, a meat-packing business.

Murphy had worked at a warehouse on the block for about five years, family said.

Latrice Thompson, a sister-in-law, said Murphy had four children. "He was a fun person," she said. "A very loving person."

As the sun began to rise, a detective walked with Murphy's mother and daughter toward other family members and friends. As women in the crowd began to sob, the detective embraced Murphy's wife.