Upshaw is charged with first-degree murder in Behnke's death.

A first-degree murder charge filed after a person of interest was released is still an accusation. Release without charges is not an acquittal, and a later complaint is not a conviction. On Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, Jalen Upshaw of Dixmoor surrendered to Wheeling Police with his attorney and was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Christopher M. Behnke, 55.

Upshaw had been taken into custody as a person of interest after a July 4 incident in the 1100 block of Wildberry Court, then released without charges while the investigation continued. Officers were called about 11:50 p.m. on July 4. Behnke was found unresponsive, taken to Glenbrook Hospital, and later pronounced dead. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, as cited, said Behnke died from asphyxia due to assault and ruled the death a homicide. Investigators say the injuries are believed consistent with a domestic incident. A medical-examiner ruling on cause and manner, and an investigator's belief about how the injuries fit a domestic incident, are not a finding that Upshaw committed murder.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Sept. 22 at the Third Municipal District Courthouse in Rolling Meadows. A hearing date is process. It is not a detention order already entered, and it is not a guilty plea. A charge after an earlier release is how an investigation can end in a complaint. The earlier release does not erase the new accusation, and the new accusation does not prove the July 4 file. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.