CHICAGO — Denise Howard was not related by blood to the 10-year-old girl who lived about a block away from her in Streamwood. But to that little girl, she was “grandma.”

“She was always clean. Always beautiful looking,” Howard said. “And she always loved to wear pink — and she looked good in it. The mother took very good care of her.”

When Howard heard the news around 3 a.m. Thursday that Uyani Jones, along with her sister, Janiya Jenkins, 21, had been found stabbed to death in their home Wednesday night, she said she was devastated.

“I just started crying. I couldn’t go back to sleep,” Howard said. “I’m gonna miss her. I’m gonna miss her dancing. I’m going to miss her hugs. I’m going to miss her trying to get the Oreo cookies.”

On Thursday evening, police were still searching for the suspect in the sisters’ deaths, Jalonie Jenkins, 25, who they called “armed and dangerous.” A relative identified the suspect as a step-brother of the victims.

His last known location was in Bensenville, where police said officers had located the suspect’s vehicle in Redmond Park. They said they searched the park with the help of drones and search dogs.

The Cook County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the investigation. Police said to call 911 if someone sees him and to not approach him.

In Streamwood, residents described the neighborhood as a generally calm and tranquil place. Neighbors knew something was amiss after police were dispatched to the home on the 1600 block of McKool Avenue around 7:50 p.m. The sisters were found dead inside the residence, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Longtime residents said the degree of violence was unusual.

“I’ve lived here 21 years,” Manfred Malagan said. “Never seen anything like that.”

Howard, who said she met Uyani about three years ago, said the neighborhood was in mourning after hearing the news.

“This affected the whole community. This should have never happened to that family,” Howard said. “Today when I came out and my neighbor came out, we hugged each other because it’s sad.”

Howard said Uyani would come over after school for treats and to play games with her grandkids. The little girl loved Oreos and was always dancing.

U-46 School District officials confirmed she’d been a fifth grader at Parkwood Elementary School; her older sister a 2021 graduate of Streamwood High School. The district sent a crisis support team to Parkwood Elementary Friday afternoon for students and staff and offered condolences to the victims’ family.

“Our heartfelt sympathies are extended to this family and all who are grieving,” officials said in a statement.

Thursday morning, yellow police caution tape surrounded the house, which had a stroller laying in the front yard. People walked by the home with dogs, a few stopping by to look at the crime scene.

Jalynn Perez, 16, lives near the house where the stabbing took place. She was watching a movie when around 6:30 p.m., her living room lit up with cop lights. A few minutes later, she said she saw fire trucks and ambulances pull up.

While Perez didn’t know the victims personally, she said she knew a few kids who would go to the house.

“I see in that specific house that it happened in, teenagers and kids and stuff were always running in and out of there,” Perez said. Her friends described it as just a chill place to hang out, but Perez herself had never been inside.

For Perez, who had moved to the neighborhood around Christmas last year, the news was shocking.

“It’s the suburbs, I thought it was supposed to be so good and stuff,” Perez said, noting that she had been warned that things can get a little rough in the summer time. “I live four minutes away from my (grandma’s) house, and it’s beautiful over there. And then this happens.”

Police asked anyone with information to contact its Crime Tip Hotline at 630-736-3719 or email police@streamwood.org.

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