Chicago's homeless 'Walking Man' dies after May arson attack

A homeless man who became known as Chicago's "Walking Man" because he was frequently seen walking the city's downtown streets has died months after being set on fire as he slept.

Joseph Kromelis, 75, died Sunday evening after being hospitalized since he was attacked in May, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said. The office did not disclose his cause of death.

Kromelis had long been a fixture in downtown Chicago, known for walking the streets of the Loop and recognizable for his long, wavy white hair and mustache.

He was attacked and set on fire on May 25 as he slept under blankets along Lower Wabash Avenue.

Prosecutors said during a May court hearing for the suspect, Joseph Guardia, 27, that surveillance cameras captured Guardia walking up to and standing over Kromelis silently for 16 seconds. Prosecutors say the video shows Guardia, who is charged with attempted murder and arson, walking to a nearby intersection then returning to pour gasoline over Kromelis' uncovered head and ignite it.

Kromelis sustained severe burns from the attack that covered more than half of his body.

During Guardia's May court hearing, Assistant State's Attorney Danny Hanichak said the suspect provided no other motive than "being an angry person" who wanted to burn some trash and denied knowing that he had lit a person on fire.

About four months after the attack, Kromelis was discharged from a hospital and continued to recover at a rehabilitation facility, having to undergo additional surgeries, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The May attack was the second in the past six years on Kromelis. In 2016, he was hospitalized for several weeks after being beaten by an individual carrying a baseball bat.