Within moments, Carmelia Harper went from sleeping at her home to grasping the news that her brother had been in a fight at the CTA Clark/Lake station Saturday night.
“This couldn’t be real,” Harper, 50, told the Chicago Sun-Times Monday morning. “It’s unbelievable.”
Robert Harper, 56, was fighting with another man on the platform about 10:30 p.m. in the 100 block of West Lake Street when he suffered an injury to his head, Chicago police said.
Chicago firefighters found Harper unresponsive and took him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
The man Harper was fighting was taken into custody and charges were pending Monday, officials said.
Carmelia Harper said she doesn’t know what sparked the argument that resulted in her brother’s death, but she stressed that justice was “very important.”
“People shouldn’t have to go through this,” Carmelia Harper said. “It’s awful, it’s devastating.”
Carmelia Harper said she loved the way her brother cooked chicken and baked cookies.
“He’s cooked practically all his life,” she said. “He was a good cook.”
Robert Harper grew up on 49th Street and Cicero Avenue before moving farther south, his sister said. He was unemployed at the time of his death, but previously worked as a certified nursing assistant.
Carmelia Harper last saw her brother years ago when he came to stay for Thanksgiving, she said. He was unhoused and in and out of jail, most recently released two weeks ago.
Despite his struggles, Robert Harper still cared deeply about his two sisters, according to Carmelia Harper.
“He was always there when we needed him.”
