The body of a 15-year-old boy was found burned near a garage in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood early Saturday morning, with the family pleading with Black Lives Matter activists not to “turn” their backs and fight for real change.
Firefighters responded to the garage fire in the 5500 block of West Cortez Street about 1:25 a.m. Saturday, a local ABC News affiliate reported.
The body of Demetrius Griffin Jr., a freshman at Steinmetz High School, was found in a trash can near the burned garage, the family said.
Police have not confirmed that Demetrius was found in a trash can, ABC reported. Investigators were reported seen in an alley near the garage searching for evidence.
Family members said the boy was very well behaved and always respected his curfew.
“Once I realized he didn’t come in on his curfew, I knew something was wrong,” Polly Sykes, the victim’s mother, told ABC.
Ms. Sykes appeared at a vigil Tuesday evening with Chicago Survivors crisis responder Dawn Valenti, pleading with the public to help investigators bring Demetrius’ killer to justice.
“Community, I need your help. They killed my baby out here in this alley,” Ms. Sykes told the crowd. “He wasn’t a gang member. He was a very respectful kid. He walked everybody in the neighborhood’s dogs.”
Virginia Riley, the boy’s great-aunt, added, “Don’t turn your back this time, y’all. We really need to find the solution or real, I mean, if you all talk about ’Black Lives Matter,’ this life did matter.”
“These are not TV monsters, video game monsters,” said family friend Ashake Banks, ABC reported. “They’re like the devil. They’re out of control. They don’t care and don’t respect human life.”
The cause of Demetrius’ death is unknown, and an investigation is ongoing, police said.
On Friday, another body was found inside a burned garage in the Pilsen neighborhood, but the two cases appeared to be unrelated, ABC reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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