CHICAGO — A 24-year-old man is in custody in connection with three fatal stabbings that happened within a week and a half mile of each other on the West Side last month, Chicago police announced Monday.

The first victim, 57-year-old Ruby Humphrey, was found dead with multiple stab wounds in her head and neck November 13 on the 3100 block of west Taylor Street.  Friends say she was homeless by choice, and well-liked by all who knew her.

“She was a kind person; even she fell on hard times she had a sweet heart,” friend Margaret Williams said.

Then around 1:30 a.m. on November 15, 64-year-old Jose Ceja was found lying on the sidewalk outside an apartment building in the 1100 block of south Keeler Avenue. While she didn’t know the victim, a neighbor told WGN-TV that police followed a blood trail south to Roosevelt Road, suggesting Ceja was attacked somewhere else and died in front of the building.

A few days later on November 20, 58-year-old Ronald Rockett was found dead in the vestibule of an apartment building in the 1200 block of south Christiana Avenue. Neighbors say he was in a wheelchair.

“I heard that he was over there at the mall, and someone followed him to over here in the hallway,” neighbor Doris Brown said.

Police say they were able to figure out the murders were connected based on their brutality and surveillance videos they discovered after the second and third killings. They released images from the videos to the public, asking for help identifying the suspect.

The 24-year-old man was arrested Sunday night near his home, which is not far from the murder scenes. While he has no significant criminal history in the area, police say they’re very confident he is behind the brutal murders. He has not been formally charged, but that could come tomorrow.

Police say as of now there is no apparent motive in the attack, and the murders appear to be random.