Gunshot Wounds Discovered By Funeral Home Employee In Oak Forest Murder: Prosecutor

OAK FOREST, IL — A man found dead inside his Oak Forest home in January had been shot multiple times—but the gunshot wounds were not discovered until his body reached the funeral home, new court documents show.

Michael Arnold, 68, was discovered unresponsive inside his home in the 15000 block of Sunset Avenue on Jan. 23. A month later, Oak Forest police arrested Steven J. Knox, 19, of Dolton in connection with his death. Text messages in the days leading up to the murder show the two men knew each other, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office said in a proffer. Knox is alleged to have shot Arnold and stolen his car afterward.

According to the document, Arnold's sister found him at the home, face-down in the living room. Family told first responders that Arnold was known to have health issues, and "following a short inspection," Oak Forest EMS contacted Palos Community Hospital, and Arnold was pronounced dead just before 7 p.m.

First responders did not initially find gunshot wounds on Arnold, prosecutors said.

"Because the body remained face down and was not moved by responding personnel, gunshot wounds were not discovered at that time," the proffer reads. Arnold's body was transferred to a funeral home.

The next day, family discovered Arnold's car was missing from the garage. Family also found text messages with a contact named "Duke" on Arnold's phone, court documents state, with some messages of a sexual nature deleted by a family member before they knew law enforcement would become involved.

The family reported the Dodge Caravan missing, and police learned it had been towed and impounded after a hit-and-run in Dolton on Jan. 21. The driver had fled on foot. Police then contacted the funeral home employee who was preparing Arnold's body, who reported finding what appeared to be gunshot wounds. Detectives inspecting the body then found multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and both arms.

On Jan. 25, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Arnold's death a homicide.

Police executed a search warrant at Arnold's home, finding bloody rugs that family had moved to the porch during cleaning, as well as two shell casings and blood spatter on an interior wall, prosecutors said. All guns owned by Arnold were found in the residence.

Investigators searched Arnold's phone and found text messages between the victim and "Duke"—at a number determined to belong to Knox, prosecutors said. Arnold had reportedly arranged to pick up Knox at a designated address the evening of Jan. 21.

License plate reader data and surveillance video tracked Arnold's Dodge Caravan leaving his residence, traveling to that address, and arriving at approximately the same time referenced in the text message, prosecutors said. A neighboring Ring camera captured a man carrying a duffel bag entering the front passenger seat of the vehicle.

The van was then tracked back to Arnold's house, arriving at 5:13 p.m. on Jan. 21. The car was seen driving away from the residence again at 5:20 p.m., prosecutors said.

The vehicle was then tracked to a Dolton gas station at 6 p.m., where court documents say surveillance video captured Knox lingering for an hour, asking to buy cigarettes, attempting to sell the clerk a vehicle, and asking to charge his phone.

Just after 7:30 p.m., Knox is alleged to have crashed the van and fled on foot, prosecutors say.

Evidence technicians searching the van found an iPhone with "a distinctive gray case, keys in the ignition, and a partially smoked wood-tipped cigar," prosecutors said. The phone, keys, and cigar matched those Knox was seen with in the gas station surveillance footage.

Knox was later arrested by Blue Island police, and a gun was found on him. The gun was fire-tested, and results showed a high confidence correlation between it and the shell casings found at the Oak Forest scene, prosecutors said.

Later, while in custody at the Cook County Department of Corrections on Jan. 28, Knox reportedly made statements about the incident during a recorded jail call, prosecutors said.

On Feb. 10, Knox's mother positively identified him as the man seen in still photos from the gas station surveillance footage. An employee there also confirmed his identity, prosecutors said.

Knox has no prior adult felony convictions, but was previously on probation for a 2024 home invasion. He had originally been charged with armed robbery, home invasion and firearm offenses, but pleaded guilty to home invasion and served his full probation.

On Feb. 19 of this year, Knox pleaded guilty to misdemeanor retail theft and misdemeanor escape. In that case, he had been arrested for retail theft on Jan. 5. While under arrest, prosecutors say he "broke free from the officer, fled while still handcuffed, entered a waiting vehicle, and left the scene."

He also has a pending misdemeanor retail theft case scheduled for April 25.

In another incident, Knox has a pending case charging aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and aggravated fleeing and eluding.

In that incident, police attempted to stop a car that had been identified as stolen through a license plate reader. The vehicle fled from police and crashed into a parked vehicle before police say the driver—identified as Knox—then fled on foot. Multiple attempts to use a Taser on Knox were unsuccessful, police said, and several officers were required to take him into custody.

The events of that case occurred on Jan. 23—two days after Arnold's murder, prosecutors state.

Prosecutors on Tuesday sought pre-trial detention for Knox, on the basis of real and present threat to safety and high likelihood of willful flight.

"It is the State's position that the defendant poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons or the community based on the specific articulable facts of this case," prosecutors said.

"The evidence shows that the defendant arranged to meet the victim, entered the victim's vehicle, traveled with him back to the victim's residence, and within minutes the victim was shot multiple times inside his own home," they continued in the petition to deny pretrial release.

"The nature of this offense—a shooting resulting in multiple gunshot wounds—demonstrates an extreme and dangerous disregard for human life. The defendant's conduct following the homicide, including taking the victim's vehicle and abandoning it after a collision, further demonstrates dangerous and reckless behavior."

A Cook County judge on Tuesday granted the state's petition to detain Knox until trial.

Knox pleaded not guilty. His next court date has been set for April 15.