Memorial Service Set For Joliet Homeless Man

JOLIET, IL — A memorial service for Damen Amos has been set for 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 21 at the Minor-Morris Funeral Home. The 37-year-old Joliet man's badly decomposed body was discovered inside an empty Joliet house in the 400 block of Sherman Street.

"He loved to listen to music, write raps, and was very artistic. Damen dedicated his life to Christ at an early age under the leadership of the late Reverend Odell Thompson at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Joliet," his obituary reflects.

Although an autopsy was performed, no official cause and manner of death has been determined yet. Officials with the Will County Coroner's Office told Joliet Patch they are awaiting toxicology lab results and additional pathological studies to determine how Amos died.

At this point, coroner's officials indicated they do not have any evidence to suggest his death was suspicious.

The Joliet Police Department was notified of the dead body as a result of an anonymous tip placed to the Will County Crime Stoppers phone number, according to the coroner's office. Authorities found the human remains inside the house around 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 5. It was evident that the man had been dead for some time, the coroner's office indicated.

Amos spent time in the Will County Jail each of the previous three years. He was convicted in 2017 of burglary and at the time of his death, he was awaiting trial on a May 2019 charge of criminal trespass to land. Jail logs and court documents had listed Amos as being homeless.