Michael Goodman pleaded guilty in the 2023 killing of Serabi Medina, whose family supported a negotiated sentence rather than proceeding to trial.
CHICAGO — A Chicago man was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in prison for killing 9-year-old Serabi Medina outside her family’s Portage Park home in 2023, ending a criminal case more than three years after the child was fatally shot shortly after buying ice cream.
Michael Goodman, 46, received the sentence Nov. 5 after pleading guilty to murder as part of a negotiated agreement. Cook County Judge Tyria Walton imposed the 40-year term. Local reports said Goodman will receive credit for about three years already spent in custody. The plea allowed Serabi’s family to avoid a trial that relatives said would have forced them to relive the killing in court.
The shooting happened Aug. 5, 2023, in the 3500 block of North Long Avenue on Chicago’s Northwest Side. Prosecutors said Serabi was outside her apartment building while her father, Michael Medina, spoke with friends sitting in a vehicle. One of the friends gave the girl money, which she used to buy two ice creams from a nearby truck, one for herself and one for her father.
A few minutes later, a gunshot was heard nearby, according to prosecutors. Serabi’s father told her to take her scooter and go back into the apartment building. Goodman, who lived across the street, then came outside carrying a handgun and moved toward the girl. Prosecutors said Medina shouted at Goodman and tried to intervene as Goodman continued toward Serabi.
Goodman fatally shot the child near the entrance to her building, prosecutors said. Medina then tackled Goodman, and the gun discharged again during the struggle, striking Goodman near the eye. Serabi was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she died. Investigators recovered a handgun at the scene and found additional ammunition and evidence during the investigation, according to reports from the initial court proceedings.
Goodman was charged with first-degree murder soon after the shooting and was ordered held without bail. Prosecutors said witnesses, including Serabi’s father, identified him as the shooter. Contemporary reports also said Goodman and the Medina family lived across the street from each other but did not know one another. Authorities did not establish a prior dispute between Goodman and the family.
At sentencing, Goodman’s attorney read a statement in which Goodman said he had been struggling with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and had taken ketamine before the shooting. Goodman said he did not remember killing Serabi. His account of his mental condition and drug use was presented as his explanation for what happened and did not alter his guilty plea or the sentence imposed by the court.
Serabi’s relatives rejected Goodman’s explanation and described the lasting impact of the killing in victim-impact statements. Her father told ABC7 Chicago that family members had been yelling at Goodman during the attack and that Goodman appeared focused on his daughter. Relatives said they supported the plea agreement because they wanted accountability without enduring a trial.
Serabi’s death had drawn widespread attention in Portage Park after the 2023 shooting. Neighbors and friends described her at the time as an outgoing child who enjoyed riding her scooter and spending time outdoors. A memorial of balloons, stuffed animals and messages formed outside the family’s home in the days after her death.
The 40-year sentence concludes the criminal prosecution stemming from Serabi’s killing. Goodman is expected to remain imprisoned for decades under the terms of the negotiated plea, while her relatives said the end of the court case leaves them to continue grieving her death.
Author note: Last updated November 7, 2026.