Judge finds Northern Trust attacker guilty, not murder

A Cook County judge convicted Henry Graham of involuntary manslaughter in the 2023 Mag Mile assault that killed Northern Trust executive Russell Long, rejecting a first-degree murder charge after testimony and Chicago police body-camera statements.

When Russell Long fell face-first onto the North Michigan Avenue sidewalk, the moment didn’t end—at least not for the people who lived with it.

On Thursday, Henry Graham sat impassively in a tan jail uniform as Judge Charles Burns delivered his verdict in the high-profile 2023 attack on the Magnificent Mile. The case centered on what a single punch can—and can’t—prove in an Illinois courtroom.

Graham came up behind Long and struck him in the back of the head. Long fell forward onto the sidewalk and suffered a fatal brain injury. He died almost two weeks later.

“He was ambushed,” the judge said. “He did not see this coming. He went down like a tree in a hurricane.”

Burns rejected the prosecutors’ attempt to secure a first-degree murder conviction. pointing to state case law dating back to a 1921 Illinois Supreme Court decision. In that body of precedent. Burns said. someone who delivers a single blow to the head with a fist is not presumed to know it will kill.

Instead of murder, Burns found Graham guilty of involuntary manslaughter because he acted recklessly. “In no way, shape or form was the defendant justified in using the force he did.”

Graham will be sentenced later. Involuntary manslaughter is a Class 3 felony, which typically carries a prison term of two to five years unless there are aggravating factors.

Prosecutors had pushed for the harsher charge. During the second day of Graham’s trial, Assistant Cook County Public Defender Celeste Addyman argued prosecutors’ decision to file a first-degree murder charge was wrong.

“We’re not trying to excuse what happened,” Addyman said. “The outcome is a tragedy.”

Addyman said Illinois law has long held that “one punch is not evidence of first-degree murder.” Prosecutors countered that Graham’s statements to Chicago police officers after the attack showed intent to harm Long.

In remarks captured on police body-camera video. Graham—who is Black—said he didn’t like white people and referred to Long as a “honky.” Graham also told officers he “ain’t never lost a fight in my life. ” and said that if Long had gotten up. he would have tried to “whoop his ass.” During the interaction. Graham ranted incoherently about O.J. Simpson.

There was no testimony at trial that Graham was suffering from mental illness. but court records show he has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and has lived in homeless shelters. jails. prisons and hospitals in Chicago. Evanston and South Bend. Indiana. Court records also show he has been convicted of two other felonies and seven misdemeanors for punching and kicking people.

Long’s killing and Graham’s case were featured last year in a Chicago Sun-Times series titled “Failure to treat, failure to protect,” about people with severe, untreated mental illness who cycle in and out of jails, prisons and hospitals.

In court. Long’s brother Daniel—who lives in Arizona—sat through the trial. closing his eyes during graphic testimony Tuesday by an assistant medical examiner about Long’s extensive head injuries. The injuries included facial and skull fractures, and bleeding of his brain from falling face-first onto the sidewalk.

“Just the noise of it was a really loud cracking noise that is stuck in my head,” witness Eric Arrigo testified earlier.

Minutes after Graham attacked Long, witnesses pointed him out to Chicago police officers. Graham spoke with officers, admitting he hit Long, but said it happened after Long bumped into him. After that interaction, the officers released him.

Graham was not arrested in Long’s death until October 2023 while he was in the Cook County Jail on another charge. During the period he was on the street after Long was attacked, police say, he assaulted several other people.

The attack also triggered discipline inside the department. Four Chicago cops were given short suspensions for rule violations connected to their actions on the day Long was attacked, including not filing a police report.

Long, 53, worked as a vice president at Northern Trust. On June 29, 2023, he was shopping with new blue jeans in his bag when he was punched from behind on the sidewalk on Michigan Avenue after going across the crosswalk at Ontario Street. He died 13 days later at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Long lived in a high-rise near the Chicago River. He attended the University of Illinois and enjoyed living downtown and listening to live music. But he was growing increasingly concerned about his safety, one friend said.

The judge’s decision means Graham’s case ends—at least for now—not at the level of first-degree murder, but in a lesser conviction built around recklessness and the weight of long-standing Illinois precedent.

Graham’s sentencing is scheduled for later.

Henry Graham Russell Long Northern Trust Magnificent Mile attack involuntary manslaughter Cook County Judge Charles Burns Illinois case law 1921 Chicago police body-camera video schizophrenia diagnosis O.J. Simpson rant Northern Michigan Avenue sidewalk