CHICAGO — The burned body of a 15-year-old boy was found in a West Side trash can Tuesday morning, police said. Now, they're looking for a person who might have been burned while setting the fire.
At 1:25 a.m., Chicago Police and Fire responded to a trash fire in the 5500 block of West Cortez Street, said Officer Jose Estrada, a Chicago Police spokesman. After putting out the fire, they found the remains of a 15-year-old boy who's body had been badly burnt.
The boy was identified as Demetrius Griffin, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. How Griffin died is still under investigation.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Griffin was a freshman at Steinmetz High School. A vigil will be held in his honor at 7 p.m. in the 5500 block of South Cortez Street, his family wrote on Facebook.
"... I practically raised this kid," his older sister wrote on Facebook. "I will never be okay, I prayed for that boy, my 3-year-old prayed for him every time he hit the door that he made it back in to us safely and prayer failed me cause my baby is never coming back home.
"So no I will never be ok, this will never be ok."
Police are looking for help finding a person who might have sought medical treatment for burns after the fire, according to a Tuesday news release. The person might have burnt himself or herself while setting the Austin fire, police said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call police at 312-744-8261.
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