Chicago‘s infamous Walking Man, who was set alight during an ‘evil’ assault on the street that melted his ear and eyelids off, became homeless after the deaths of his four siblings.
Joseph Kromelis was an infamous character on Chicago’s streets for decades, as he would walk about 20 miles a day in stylish suits, with his iconic moustache and long hair.
For years, he strode around the city with his tall physique, mystifying passersby: some people theorized he was an eccentric billionaire, while others made up myths that he was a famous musician or a college literature professor.
But after suffering the loss of four siblings, Kromelis became homeless and was sleeping on the streets when he was set alight by a career criminal in May 2022, causing horrific full body burns which eventually killed him seven months later.
The Chicago Tribune has now revealed the life story behind Kromelis, who did not have a history of violence, addiction, or mental illness but was instead a local legend before his heartbreaking death.
While sleeping on the streets, Kromelis was set alight by a career criminal, causing horrific full body burns which eventually killed him in December 2022
Some people on the streets of Chicago theorized that Joseph Kromelis (pictured here in his younger years) was an eccentric billionaire because of his looks, while others made up myths that he was a famous musician or a college literature professor
Kromelis was born in Germany on January 13, 1947 to Lithuanian parents, and he was one of six children who emigrated with them to America.
In April 1968, when Joseph was 21, his father committed suicide in the family home after a six-month battle with terminal cancer. He was 64.
Erika ‘Ricky’ Singree, Kromelis’ only living sibling, said about their father: ‘He was already inches away from death. He left a letter for my mother and for us kids and said how much he cared for everybody and he didn’t want to burden my mom anymore.’
But in recent years, Kromelis also faced a series of life-altering problems beginning in 2012, when he was in his mid-60s. This also coincided with when he started sleeping on the streets.
In November 2012, his sister Irene died, and just weeks later on Christmas Eve, his oldest brother John passed away.
Then two of his other siblings, Bruno and Peter, died just months apart in late 2014 and early 2015. Peter Kromelis committed suicide.
Months later in May 2016, Kromelis experienced his first bloody attack on the streets of Chicago. A thug with a bat brutally attacked him and gouged his eyes ‘to the point that blood was streaming from his eye sockets.’
And the second assault ended up being fatal. He was sleeping outside under blankets early on May 25, 2022, when police say a man with an extensive rap sheet set him on fire.
He poured gasoline on Kromelis, and his body was ablaze for three minutes as he tried to extinguish the flames himself to no avail. CCTV shows him then slumping against a wall while still on fire.
It was only after a security guard from an adjacent building came out with a fire extinguisher that the flames were put out.
Joseph Kromelis, known as ‘Walking Man,’ pictured in the 1970s in a cafe
Joseph Guardia, 23, of Melrose Park, is accused of setting Joseph Kormelis, 75, on fire
But the damage was done. Over 65 percent of his body was burnt, including his face, making him unrecognizable. His iconic moustache had been singed, and he couldn’t close his eyes or blink because his eyelids were burnt off.
He also lost part of his ear from the horrific burns.
The infection caused by the severe burning were so intense that he succumbed to his injuries on December 11, at the age of 75.
Joseph Guardia, 27, was arrested for the crime. Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Danny Hanichak said at Guardia’s bond hearing: ‘It takes a special kind of evil to do what the defendant did.
‘The defendant decided to target the most vulnerable person possible: a 75-year-old homeless man sleeping on the street.
‘In 16 years of prosecuting cases, I’ve never seen a video so horrific.’
Kormelis famously did not sleep in sleeping bags, and only used blankets. When asked why, it’s believed he said: ‘Are you crazy? They can really get you if you’re stuck in a bag.’
In the weeks before his death, after coming out of a coma, Kromelis was visited by a nun, Sister Paul Wilson.
She said that they prayed together, and watched old movies, noting that the 75-year-old was a big fan of CNN. The nun would play him music on Spotify, and he would wave his hands as if he was a conductor.
Over 65 percent of his body was burnt, including his face, making him unrecognizable. His iconic moustache had been singed, and he couldn’t close his eyes or blink because his eyelids were burnt off
The scene of the burning
Joe Kromelis, second from left, with his brothers John, Peter and Bruno and his sister Irene. Kromelis was born in Germany on January 13, 1947 to Lithuanian parents, and he was one of six children who emigrated with them to America
Sister Paul Wilson said about his final moments: ‘I don’t think he suffered a lot in the end, but his body was just wracked with sickness. It was very stark. Very, very hard.’
Following his death, locals in Chicago have tried to find out about the infamous man who used to walk the streets. But before the Tribune’s profile of him, little was known about his life.
Erika, his sibling who lives in Alaska, admitted that he was a mystery even to his own family – and he was a single, independent man who was best described as a free spirit.
She revealed that as a teenager living in the US, he loved nice clothes, imitating Elvis Presley, and going swimming with his friends. She described him as ‘kind, soft-spoken and intelligent.’
His sister said: ‘What he liked, even as a young teenager, was really nice clothes. When most kids would buy candy or junk stuff, he’d work part time or get a little money from Dad and then go down good old Maxwell Street and look for a new shirt.’
And sometimes when he didn’t have enough money to ride the bus with his friends to go to the lake to swim, determined Kromelis would run alongside the vehicle instead.
But much like his later life, ‘he was always to himself, even as a kid.’
As he got older, stylish Kromelis took up a keen interest in jewelry, and would hang around the open-air Maxwell Street Market, where he soon started peddling fake designer watches.
It was a passion that Kromelis believed would make him his own boss and give him the freedom he wanted, his sister said.
And it was also around this time that downtown workers and pedestrians gave him funky nicknames to match his eccentric outside. They called him the Walking Man, the Walking Dude, Walking Yanni, and the ’70s Man, according to the Tribune.
One of his friends back then was Viki Mammina, said she called him Mojo ‘because he was just so gorgeous, so stylish with his three-piece suits, gold rings and chains.’
In an obituary for him, he was remembered as a local icon, whose friendly face brightened the days of countless passersby
As he got older, stylish Kromelis took up a keen interest in jewelry, and would hang around the open-air Maxwell Street Market, where he soon started peddling fake designer watches
The scene where Kromelis was set alight
Mammina rekindled with her old friend in 1985, who noted he was still just walking around and selling jewelry. She said: ‘He felt most comfortable with other street people. I don’t think he knew how to do anything else. That’s who Joe was.
‘It was his identity.’
In an obituary for him, he was remembered as a local icon, whose friendly face brightened the days of countless passersby.
It read: ‘Well dressed and confident in his bearing, his distinctive appearance made him instantly recognizable and a local icon.
‘He wore his thick, wavy hair long and sported a broad moustache, all of it graying in recent years and lending an air of worldliness and sophistication.
‘He tucked a neatly folded handkerchief in the breast pocket of his blazers, which opened on his trademark V-neck t-shirts.
‘And above all, he walked…and walked, and walked. Among the crowds. Down the Magnificent Mile. Across Chicago River bridges. Through the L-shadowed streets of the Loop.
‘He has been the subject of news stories, photo essays, and a documentary project. But most of all, he was a friendly face that brightened the days of countless passersby.’