Beloved Brighton Park Liquor Store Clerk Fatally Stabbed

A beloved grocery store cashier who worked at a Brighton Park liquor store was fatally stabbed Saturday afternoon. Christ Douvlis, 56, was stabbed multiple times around 12:30 p.m. Saturday inside Liquorama, according to multiple media reports. Paramedics rushed him to Mount Sinai Hospital where he died. The store is owned by Douvlis’s brother. Management has since said, via Facebook, that Douvlis was killed because he refused to sell beer to a customer without seeing a valid ID.

A suspect, Moises Morales, 26, was arrested Sunday and charged with one count of first-degree murder, according to the Sun-Times. Morales appeared in bond court on Monday morning, where Judge David Navarro ordered that he be held without bail, the Sun-Times also reported.

Liquorama is located on the 4400 block of South Kedzie Avenue. Police said Morales and Douvlis argued inside the store before the stabbing. Prosecutors said in court Monday that Morales was turned away twice for attempting to purchase beer without an ID, before spitting at and then stabbing Douvlis. The store’s security cameras apparently show Morales and his father, who was also present during the incident, leaving the store with Douvlis wounded on the floor, according to prosecutors. Morales was arrested a few blocks away from his father’s home.

Facebook

A Facebook post from the store honored Douvlis and called the stabbing “a senseless act by someone who obviously had no idea that they took the life of someone who was loved by so many people.” Mourners posted more than 400 comments in tribute, remembering Douvlis as a kind-hearted person who enjoyed talking with customers.

Liquor stores have been deemed essential by the state and continue to operate during the governor’s stay-at-home order which closed restaurant dining rooms and bars as Illinois copes with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Douvlis’s family hasn’t yet determined funeral or memorial arrangements, according to a Liquorama employee.