Questions Remain in November Alleyway Death of Suburban Man

It has been 52 days. Fifty two days containing very few, if any, answers regarding the death of Timothy Gallagher, 21, who was found lifeless Sunday, Nov. 18 in a Lincoln Park alley.

The Crystal Lake native was discovered around 5:15 a.m. at 401 W. Fullerton Parkway when police received a call about a "man down" in that area. Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak said he may have fallen from one of the higher buildings and those in 43rd Ward Ald. Michele Smith's office said, at the time, that there was no evidence of foul play.

But in the dozen or so conversations Patch has had with police over the past several weeks, they have not once confirmed that foul play wasn't a possibility. When asked directly, they point to the investigation, which remains open along with the autopsy.

"There are no real updates," Chicago Police Department News Affairs Officer Daniel O'Brien said on Thursday. "It remains a general death investigation. It's open and assigned, pending further investigation. … The last notation (in the report) is that video surveillance was being reviewed and that there are pending autopsy results."

Representatives from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said on Friday that the autopsy remained incomplete. The process can take three to six months, they said.

Video surveillance shows Gallagher leaving a bar in Lincoln Park by himself between 3 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., and later getting out of a cab in front a building less than a mile from the establishment, his father, Jim, told the Northwest Herald at the end of November.

"He is then seen entering the apartment building, although his destination is unclear, and later, hitting the pavement," the story says.

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Jim Gallagher reached out to Patch in November seeking answers. He didn't believe his son knew anyone in that building or area, he said.

He also took to social networks, like Facebook, asking anyone who may have known what Tim was doing in that area to e-mail him. He thanked friends for sharing their memories of his son, which "made unimaginable pain more tolerable."

"I would love to be able to personally hug each one of you and thank you, but obviously that's not possible," he wrote. "The love, support, words of encouragement and acts of kindness that you have shown will never be able to be fully repaid."

Timothy Gallagher was a loyal Cubs, Bears and Blackhawks fan and an avid fisherman, according to his Legacy obituary. He was studying journalism at Western Illinois University. His father declined to comment this week on the ongoing investigation.

In November, he channeled Chicago columnist Mike Royko and wrote:

"When I was a kid, the worst of all days was the last day of summer vacation and we were in the schoolyard playing softball, the sun was going down and it was getting dark. But I didn't want it to get dark.

I didn't want the game to end. It was too good, too much fun. I wanted it to stay light forever, so we could keep on playing forever. That's how I feel now, C'mon ... let's play one more inning. Stick around, Tim. We can't break up this team. It's too much fun.

If you have any information about Timothy Gallagher's trip to 401 W. Fullerton Parkway on Nov. 18, please e-mail carrie@patch.com.

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