Death Of Demetrius Jr.

2021-10-09 17:40:03 Written by Katherine

Demetrius Griffin Jr. was a small, blue-eyed boy who charmed everyone who had the pleasure of meeting him. Demetrius had started high school only two weeks before his tragic death. Former middle school teachers remember Demetrius as being somewhat of a class clown and loved to make people laugh. He was kind and was unlike other boys at his age.

Demetrius Jr.

He never taunted or belittled anyone, but rather always made an try to make friends and put a smile on people's faces. He was intelligent, especially talented in science and math, and driven. Excited to enter the next chapter of his life, Demetrius looked forward to his freshman year of high school and was just preparing to join the swim team.

 

Demetrius had a strict curfew that he abided by without fail. On September 16, in South Austin, Chicago, Demetrius, and a female friend had walked home from school together until they had to part ways several blocks from his home. He missed his curfew, and hours rapidly passed by. His mother, Polly Skyes, said that this behavior was so unlike Demetrius that she shortly knew something was wrong.

Death Of Demetrius Jr.

After police authorities responded to a call of a refuse fire on the West Side of Austin, Demetrius was found the next day at 1:30 a.m. in a garbage bin, burned beyond recognition.

Demetrius' situations were so severe that it took the medical examiner's office nearly a month to determine the cause and manner of death. Ruled as a homicide, whoever was involved in Demetrius' death has yet to be identified. Family and friends remain confused as to who could have hurt him, as he had never had any negative ties or associations in his community. In fact, according to his family, Demetrius loved his community, and would often assist his neighbors by carrying their groceries and walking their dogs. Demetrius was not affiliated with a gang or organized criminal activity, as firmly thought by those closest to him.

 

The family theorized that while Demetrius wasn't personally involved in a gang, he might have died at the hands of one. It could have been a case of wrong identity or gang initiation, where a prospective member may have had to kill an innocent person to prove their loyalty. Other theories include that it was a hate crime, related to that of the murder of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was brutally killed by two men in Mississippi.

Death Of Demetrius Jr.

Some speculate that Demetrius was a victim of a predator and that someone kidnaped and maybe assaulted Demetrius before disposing of his body in what potentially could have been motivated by sexual gratification. A member of the church, the local boys and girls club, and an expected member of his school's swimming team, Demetrius, a child, a friend, and son had had his life robbed from him for an unknown reason. 2 years later, police are no closer to discovering who murdered Demetrius than on the day they started.

 

I would also like to note that Demetrius wasn’t the only victim in Chicago to have been found charred and disposed of in a dumpster can. In 2007, two women were found strangled, nude, and disposed of in burning dumpsters near Washington Park within days of each other.

 

The first victim was recognized as Theresa Bunn, a 21-year-old woman who was 8 months pregnant at the time of her death. Her body had been covered in flammable accelerant before she was set ablaze. A little more than 24 hours later, a second woman, 2 miles away from where Theresa was found, was also discovered similarly woman, who would be later recognized as 52-year-old Hazel Lewis, was found by firefighters who had been given the task of extinguishing the dumpster fire that where she had been disposed of. There were some compelling resemblances between the two victims such as the fact that both women were African American, both were found within a few blocks of Washington Park on Chicago’s South Side, and both had been strangled, stripped, and charred. At the time of the murders, Chicago Police Spokeswoman Monique Bond reported to the local media that detectives were looking into the chance of the murders having been committed by a single perpetrator, a serial killer.

 

More than 10 years later, both Theresa and Hazel’s cases remain unsolved, and, since that year, there have been several more killings in which victims of all ages have met a similar fate. Here is a list for every victim who was discovered similarly to that of Theresa and Hazel post-2007:

 

•On November 6, 2012, a charred male was found to be burnt beyond recognition in a burning trash can in the West alley of the 3100 block of North Central Park Avenue.

 

• On May 20, 2013, 20-year-old Amy Martinez, whose body was also discovered by firefighters, was found strangled in a burning dumpster on Chicago’s Northwest Side, which also, 5 years later, remains unsolved.

 

• On April 1, 2013, a charred body was discovered in a car inside of a garage in Irving Park.

 

• On June 13, 2015, a charred body was found in a dumpster in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the Southwest side.

 

• On June 21, 2015, a charred body was found in a dumpster on the South Side in Calumet Park.

 

And finally, as of 2016, Demetrius Griffin’s body had been found in the same way. All of these cases remain unsolved.