Boy, 15, charged in violent beating death of girlfriend, 16, in West Side park

A 15-year-old boy was ordered to remain in custody after he was charged with the murder of 16-year-old Kaylah Aleah Love whose body was found one week ago in Horan Park on the city’s West Side.

The boy, who is not being named because he is a minor, was expressionless as his mother sat behind him at a Juvenile Court hearing in front of Judge Stuart F. Lubin Monday morning.

A motive was not disclosed during the hearing and the two were described as being in a dating relationship and the boy was her classmate at Manley.

Surveillance video captured the boy and Kaylah walking hand-in-hand from a McDonald’s at Roosevelt Road and Kedzie Avenue toward Horan Park around 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 16, the night before she was found, according to Assistant State’s Attorney Darryl Auguste.

The Manley High School junior’s body was spotted near a playground in Horan Park, 3035 W. Van Buren St., at 4:50 p.m. on Monday, March 17.

Kaylah was dead on the scene with multiple injuries from the assault, and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The boy and Kaylah, who were dating, were seen on video holding hands as they walked about 15 minutes before the boy began attacking Kaylah, prosecutors said.

As they walked toward a grassy area of the park, the boy struck Kaylah in the face and knocked her to the ground, Auguste said.

He continued to attack her for about 5-7 minutes, as witnesses described as “friends” of the two watched, Auguste said, adding he only stopped once the friends told him police were on the way.

When the friends returned the next day, they found Kaylah lying in the same spot with the same clothing she had on, prosecutors said. A missing person report was created by her family before she was found.

According to a police report, officers were called to the park on Monday for a battery and injured person, they met with firefighters and a 45-year-old woman who told officers she called 911 the day before when she saw and heard an “unknown male and female fighting, possibly domesticating.” She called 911 again when she went back to the park the next day and found the victim, according to the report.

Kaylah suffered significant swelling to her head and multiple cuts and wounds to her head, face and body, officials said. A mechanical pencil with blood was found near Kaylah’s body.

Prosecutors say surveillance tracked the boy back to his home where police found black jeans with suspected blood on them as well as a ski mask worn in the attack and four cell phones, including one phone with access to a Facebook account with an AI search asking “How many years can a teenager get for murder?”

Multiple school employees and at least one witness who saw the assault was able to identify the boy in a photo array and he admitted to walking to the park with Kaylah and leaving the park alone, Auguste said.

The boy remained expressionless in a brown JTDC sweater with his hands behind his back as the details of the case were read aloud.

His mother declined to speak to a reporter after the hearing. “I’m weak,” she said as she walked away.

Though the boy appeared to lack prior criminal history, Auguste emphasized that he should remain held.

“For the protection of society and for the protection of [the boy] he needs to be held,” Auguste said.

School staff and her classmates described Kaylah as “quiet, smart and always smiling,” according to a social media post from LegalHelpFirm.