Family holds vigil for Kaylah Love, teenage girl who was brutally killed on Chicago's West Side
The mystery has deepened in the case of a 16-year-old girl who was stabbed and beaten to death at a park on Chicago's West Side.
The family of Kaylah Love held a Sunday — hoping to move the needle in her chilling case, and asking anyone who saw or knows something about her killing to come forward.
Kaylah was last heard from Sunday, March 16, when she was on her way to pick up some fast food in the Lawndale neighborhood.
Her body, which was brutally beaten and stabbed several times, would be discovered 24 hours later — around 5 p.m. Monday — in Horan Park, in the 3000 block of West Van Buren Street in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.
"I just want my baby back," said Kayla's father, Robert Love, before he turned to a relative and cried at the vigil Sunday.
The tragic ending to Kayla's life has shattered the whole community.
Her family held the vigil and balloon release Sunday at the site where her body was found, and is now making a plea to the public.
"We want justice for Kayla," said Kayla's cousin, Kenyatta Euring. "If you seen something, if you know something, say something!"
"We need you all to help us, because Kayla should be here right now," said another cousin, Jazmine Reynolds.
The circumstances around the teen's death, which the Cook County Medical Examiner's office has ruled a homicide, have sparked many questions. Among those questions is whom Love was spotted with at the park Sunday evening that led to a 911 call.
Police dispatch audio from Monday when Love was found suggests the caller witnessed an apparent attack.
"She called the police yesterday regarding a female being beaten by a male," a dispatcher is heard saying. "She just walked by the same location and she is the same female — deceased."
Adding to the family's anguish, they say they learned through detectives that when Chicago Police officers initially responded to the scene on Sunday, they did not get out of the car.
The family says they were told It would be nearly 24 hours until police returned to the scene after someone reported finding the teen's body.
"She could've been dead or dying when they pulled up, and there may have been an opportunity to save her life," said Kaylah's cousin, Kenyatta Euring.
Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) said there will be transparency.
"All of what happened or didn't happen will come out. I am very clear about that," Ervin said. "Whatever transpired, we want to hold those officers accountable."
While the homicide remains under investigation, Chicago Police would not confirm whether or not the claim the responding officers did get out of their vehicle — nor whether those officers are currently under investigation.
A $10,000 reward is now being offered for any information leading to an arrest in the case.
