A 35-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of a 24-year-old woman who was stabbed in the neck Wednesday while working at Chase Bank on the North Side, Chicago police said.

       The victim, Jessica Vilaythong of Chicago’s Mayfair neighborhood, was pronounced dead Thursday, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The cause and manner of death were pending an autopsy.

       Jawaun Westbrooks, 35, of Chicago, was arrested Wednesday, according to a police news release.

       In 2014, Westbrooks had been charged with attacking two 55-year-old women with a hammer near Navy Pier and had been found not guilty by reason of insanity, according to court records.

       The Chase Bank branch at 600 N. Dearborn St. in Chicago remains closed on Sept. 3, 2021, two days after an employee was stabbed inside the bank. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

       A Tribune article at the time described Westbrooks as having a long history of mental illness. His mother, Theresa Jones, 53, had told the Tribune her son exhibited signs of mental illness at age 18 and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

       Jones had said she worked for years to have her son hospitalized, but authorities wouldn’t take him unless he was deemed a threat to himself or others. She had added that he refused to take his medication.

       “I’ve been trying to find help for him, but it seemed like no one is willing to help,” she told the Tribune in 2014.

       The stabbing occurred about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday at the Chase Bank at 600 N. Dearborn St., officials said.

       Vilaythong was on the public side of the lobby, not behind a counter, a Chicago Fire Department source said.

       Police said she was stabbed in the left side of the neck after a “brief conversation” with Westbrooks, who was later taken in for questioning.

       The woman was initially taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

       The stabbing prompted the temporary closure of that location and others “in the vicinity for the remainder of the day” Wednesday, said a source with knowledge of the situation.

       Vilaythong graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2020 with a degree in psychology, university officials confirmed.

       ”We are devastated by the passing of our colleague Jessica Vilaythong and extend our deepest sympathies to her family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” a spokesman for Chase Bank said in an email. “Jessica was a wonderful person and valued employee. She was extremely outgoing, passionate, hardworking and quick to help clients. We will miss her greatly.”

       pfry@chicagotribune.com

       eleventis@chicagotribune.com

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