Teen found shot to death in trunk of burning car, Illinois police say. ‘Heartbroken’
_fitted.png "Fifteen-year-old Kidonnie Smith Jr. was found shot to death in a burning car.")
Illinois police are investigating after they said a 15-year-old was found shot to death in the trunk of a burning car.
Chicago police and fire crews responded to reports of a burning vehicle at about 2 a.m. Dec. 15. The vehicle was in an alley, according to an incident report.
After crews put out the fire, they found the teen’s body in the trunk, officials said.
The teen was identified as 15-year-old Kidonnie Smith, according to a post from Legal Help Firm.
“Lil KD your TeTe love u no matter what! Your mom (and) dad love you, your family love you,” one person wrote on Facebook.
The Cook County Medical Examiner said Smith died from being shot in the neck and chest, WMAQ reported.
“I met with his mother. They are heartbroken, they don’t understand how he winded up in this alley, he is not from around here,” crisis responder Andrew Holmes told WGN.
Holmes told WLS that Smith was his mother’s only child and he could “light up a room.”
“We understand the car was stolen, stolen possibly from Lansing out in the suburbs from an auto shop,” Holmes told the outlet. “Hopefully their security footage can shed light on this too.”
Smith’s death has been ruled a homicide and officials are still investigating.
This story was originally published December 18, 2023 at 4:06 PM with the headline "Teen found shot to death in trunk of burning car, Illinois police say. ‘Heartbroken’."
