A 15-year-old teenager was arrested Wednesday, Dec. 2, for his alleged involvement in the death of a 74-year-old elderly man from Chicago.
The teen has not been identified due to his age and will be tried as a juvenile. He faces a count of first-degree murder and concealment of homicidal death in the murder, which occurred in a Chicago neighborhood, Fernwood, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The victim, Earl Miller, was allegedly beaten with a baseball bat, then burned in a gruesome attempt at a cover-up, according to Chicago police.
Miler suffered from severe burns and massive head trauma during the attack and ultimately died from multiple injuries. Officers found a bloodied bat and lighter fluid near Miller’s body, which was strategically placed face down, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Miller’s niece, Braxton Usher, told the Sun-Times that her family is relieved her uncle’s case “isn’t going unnoticed.”
“No one deserves to die like that at all,” she said. “I wonder how he was feeling or I wonder what he was thinking. Stuff like that, it eats at you.”
Miller is said to have enjoyed an occasional beer and loved to play the slots according to Usher, who said he “brought the New Year in at the casino.” Miller also enjoyed taking long walks downtown and won a boxing championship as a young man in the Catholic Youth Organization boxing tournament before working as a city truck driver.
The 15-year-old’s next court date is Dec. 21.
