Chicago Police Department (CPD) detectives have secured murder charges against a suspect who fled the country during an investigation that began more than two decades ago. This investigation led to an international search for the suspect, which involved multi-agency collaboration from Chicago to South America.
On Dec.18, 2004, 40-year-old Kent Projansky was shot and killed inside his apartment in the 1100 block of N. Dearborn in the city’s Near North neighborhood.
Officers from the 18th (Near North) District and Detectives from the Area Three Detective Division responded and immediately began processing the scene for evidence that was crucial to later identifying and apprehending the offender, including two shell casings that were found near the victim.
Within the first few days of the investigation, police responded to a report of a duffel bag that was found inside a garbage can on the city’s Northwest Side. The duffel bag contained bloody clothes and a firearm that matched the type of firearm used in Projansky’s murder. Now-retired Police Officer Christopher Lappe was monitoring the police radio when the duffel bag was recovered and, knowing about the murder, notified detectives and forensics personnel about the possible connection. The duffel bag was processed by the Illinois State Police (ISP) Crime Lab and was determined to be linked to the ballistic evidence recovered from the scene of Projansky’s murder.
Detectives assigned to the case continued to investigate but were unable to identify a suspect based on the evidence and information available to them at the time. The case went cold due to detectives exhausting all leads.
The case remained cold for more than a decade, but CPD detectives never forgot about the case, the victim, or his family. In 2017, now-retired Detective James Browne took a renewed look at the investigation. Knowing that the Illinois State Police Crime Lab had recently updated and modernized their latent examination technology, Detective Brown resubmitted all the latent evidence processed from Projansky’s murder scene and the recovered duffel bag in 2004.
This resulted in a new, and crucial, lead: the identification of a suspect. The re-submitted latent evidence identified David Barklow as the offender. Detective Browne also learned that Barklow had lived across the street from Projansky at the time of the murder.
With these findings, Barklow was arrested on Oct. 16, 2019 by the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force. A search warrant was secured, and a DNA sample and fingerprints were taken from Barklow. He was released without charging as the investigation continued while detectives awaited confirmation of a forensic link between Barklow and the evidence recovered in 2004. The ISP Crime Lab was later able to confirm a forensic link between Barklow, the firearm and clothing found inside the recovered duffel bag. Blood found inside the duffel bag was also a match for the victim.
As detectives continued to make progress in the investigation, the suspect fled the country in December 2019. It was learned in early 2022 that Barklow, who detectives were able to identify as the man who killed Projansky, had moved to Ecuador. An arrest warrant for Barklow was secured for First Degree Murder and Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution.
In April of this year, Investigative Response Team Detectives John Campbell and Jeff Rodenberg learned Barklow traveled from Ecuador to Peru. After learning about this from INTERPOL, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the DOJ’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. State Department, the Regional Security Office at the U.S. Embassy in Lima, Peru and Peruvian authorities coordinated to have Barklow detained.
Barklow, 68, was extradited and arrived in Chicago on Nov. 14, 2025. Due to the close partnership and collaboration with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, he is charged with:
- One felony count of First-Degree Murder
This investigation highlights the relentless work of CPD’s homicide detectives. No matter how many years passed, detectives continued to work the case until this offender was in custody. They were determined to pursue justice for Projansky and bring a small measure of closure to his family, who for more than two decades, grieved knowing the offender responsible for the murder of their loved one was living freely.
Republished courtesy of Chicago PD