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Teen Found Dead In Dumpster Was Burned Alive, Autopsy Shows

By  Dong Jin Oh and Joe Ward | October 17, 2016 12:20pm | Updated on October 17, 2016 1:41pm

 The body of Demetrius Griffin, 15, was found burned in a West Side garbage can overnight Tuesday.
The body of Demetrius Griffin, 15, was found burned in a West Side garbage can overnight Tuesday.
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CHICAGO — A 15-year-old boy whose burned body was found in a West Side dumpster last month was alive when the fire started, the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Monday.

Chicago Police and Fire responded to a trash fire in the 5500 block of West Cortez Street in Austin on Sept. 20 and found the body of Demetrius Griffin, 15, which had been badly burnt.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death as "thermal injuries due to incendiary fire in garbage can," and ruled it a homicide.

A vigil for Demetrius was held on Sept. 20 with friends, family and the Austin community asking for his killers to come forward and for peace to come to the area.

Griffin was described as a funny and touching kid. He had just started his freshman year at Steinmetz High School and was looking forward to high school, said Cordarius Thomas, 13, who said he had been friends with Griffin since he was 3.

"He stayed out of trouble, didn't mess with nobody," Thomas said. "I can't eat, sleep, do nothing."

David Powell, who taught Griffin math from sixth- through eighth-grade, said Griffin had average school problems but nothing serious. Griffin showed a liking for math and Powell hoped to foster that talent.

"He had a big smile, a big heart," Powell said.

But after 12 years working at the West Side school and six years in the Army, Powell said he hasn't known anyone that had as horrendous a death as Griffin.

"What's going to strike me like this?" he said. "It's just terrible."

Police at the time said they were looking for help finding a person who might have sought medical treatment for burns after the fire, according to a news release. The person might have burnt himself or herself while setting the fire, police said.

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