Ministry Volunteer Murdered by Man She Helped

Marisol Berrios, a pastor, a preacher, and a volunteer at a Chicago-area church food pantry, prioritized helping others and sharing the Gospel. But her charity led to her death over Labor Day weekend when a man she had helped killed her.

Berrios was 53. Marvin Wells, 59, had received help from the food pantry where she volunteered as well as cash gifts from Berrios. He admitted killing and robbing her on Saturday Sept. 2 after police found him with her purse in the car he’d stolen.

The victim’s sister Raquel found Marisol Berrios’ body covered in a sheet.

Berrios was identified as a pastor in a report by The Chicago Sun-Times, which said she led an online congregation over Zoom. She had previously lived and served in California and Mexico.

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According to WFLD, a friend who knew both the victim and the killer said Wells was an addict. The police said Wells, who has been arrested many times, learned that Berrios was helping the landlord of the apartment complex by receiving rent money from renters.

Wells allegedly broke into her apartment, killed her by beating her with a hammer and stabbing her, grabbed her purse and car keys, and drove off. Police found him parked nearby asleep at the wheel around 5 a.m.

Berrios’s family has created a GoFundMe page in her memory.