Video Surfaces Of 2010 Incident Where CVS Shoplifter Was Strangled To Death

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 17, 2013 2:30PM

DNAInfo Chicago obtained surveillance video footage of the 2010 death of Anthony Kyser, who was strangled to death in May 2010 after he shoplifted a tube of toothpaste from a Little Village CVS Pharmacy.

Kyser was strangled by a man later identified as the manager of the CVS at 2600 S. Pulaski Road. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a homicide, but Chicago Police ruled the death as accidental.

Viewing the footage, there's very little accidental about Kyser's death. (Warning: The video, though edited, may still be graphic for some viewers.)

As you can see in the video, the CVS manager follows Kyser outside and grabs him in a choke hold, while a third man begins kicking Kyser and, later, another man holds down Kyser's legs until he stops struggling.

Kyser's family filed a lawsuit against CVS and the manager who killed Kyser. Congressman Bobby Rush sent a letter to Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez calling for an investigation shortly after the incident. After viewing the video, Rush compared Kyser's death to that of David Koschman, who was killed in 2004 from injuries sustained after he was punched by Richard "RJ" Vanecko, a relative of Mayor Richard M. Daley. Vanecko, who was never charged in the original investigation, was indicted by a grand jury on involuntary manslaughter charges last month.