No arrest has been announced in the 2016 homicide of 15-year-old Demetrius Griffin Jr. in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.
CHICAGO, Ill. — Ten years after 15-year-old Demetrius Griffin Jr. was killed on Chicago’s West Side, his family is again asking for answers in a homicide that remains unsolved and has left relatives waiting for an arrest since 2016.
Griffin disappeared on the evening of Sept. 16, 2016, after walking a young girl part of the way home, according to his family. Police responding to a reported refuse fire about 1:25 a.m. Sept. 17 found his body inside a burning garbage container in an alley in the 5500 block of West Cortez Street in the Austin neighborhood. The location was only a short distance from his home. The Cook County medical examiner later ruled his death a homicide and determined that Griffin was alive when the fire began.
A decade later, no arrest has been announced. Griffin’s aunt, Rochelle Sykes, told FOX 32 Chicago that the family has received few answers and that she has not spoken with detectives since before the COVID-19 pandemic. She said earlier contacts with investigators often came because family members reached out themselves rather than receiving updates from police. The prolonged uncertainty has added another layer to the family’s grief as relatives continue trying to learn what happened after Griffin began walking home that night.
Griffin was a freshman at Steinmetz College Prep when he died. Family members and community leaders described him in reports after his death as a teenager who loved animals and wanted to join his school’s swim team. His family became concerned when he failed to return home by his curfew, something relatives said was unusual for him. By the next morning, investigators were working a homicide case that would remain unresolved for years.
Police issued an alert shortly after Griffin’s death saying the person who set the fire might have suffered burns and could have sought medical treatment. Community and faith leaders also began raising money for information in the case. The reward grew several times, reaching $10,000 by early 2017 and $15,000 in 2019 as Griffin’s relatives and supporters continued urging anyone with information to speak with investigators.
Those efforts brought renewed public attention but did not produce a publicly announced arrest. Sykes has continued questioning what happened during the period between the time Griffin separated from the girl he had been walking with and the discovery of the fire. She told FOX 32 that the girl said Griffin had walked her halfway home before turning back toward his own house. Sykes said she does not know what happened afterward and remains troubled by the unanswered questions surrounding his final movements.
The family’s effort to keep Griffin’s name before the public has extended beyond appeals for information. Near the alley where he was found, a cross, tree and bench have served as memorials. Sykes also placed a small box nearby with books, gloves and hats for neighborhood children, an effort she viewed as a way to continue the generosity she associated with her nephew. Griffin is also depicted in the Sankofa Peace Window at New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, where he attended Sunday school and was baptized.
The Rev. Marshall Hatch Jr. of New Mount Pilgrim has joined the family’s renewed appeal. Hatch said people who know what happened still have an opportunity to come forward. Chicago Ald. Emma Mitts, whose 37th Ward includes parts of the West Side, also told FOX 32 that Griffin’s killing remains one of the tragedies from her years in office that she has not forgotten. She said the case devastated both the family and the surrounding community.
For Griffin’s relatives, the passage of 10 years has not lessened the central question of who was responsible. The family continues to seek information that could explain what happened in the hours before his death and lead investigators to whoever killed him. Chicago police continue to accept information about the case, and as of the latest public reporting, no suspect had been arrested or charged.
Author note: Last updated October 24, 2026.