Prosecutors revealed new details Tuesday on what they believe happened the night a 15-year-old was strangled to death on Chicago's South Side.
According to a proffer from court, Joshua Williams, a 24-year-old now facing first-degree murder charges, was in a "dating relationship" with 15-year-old Amarise Parker, who he is now accused of killing.
Parker's parents had filed numerous missing reports for the teen, who had been staying with Williams for a number of days before her death.
Parker, a sophomore at CICS Longwood High School was reported missing on Nov. 26. Family told NBC Chicago she returned home Monday, but then went missing again.
According to prosecutors, the 15-year-old went to the home of Williams' neighbor on Dec. 10 and asked to use his phone to call her mother. There, she asked her mom to come pick her up, but when her mom arrived, her daughter couldn't be found.
The next day, Parker again called her mother asking to be picked up and, this time, the teen got into her mother's vehicle, prosecutors said.
According to the proffer, Parker told her mother that Williams would not let her leave and "she escaped when he thought that she was in the restroom."
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That afternoon, however, as Parker's mother went to pick up her other daughter from school, Parker went missing once again.
On Dec. 11, Parker stayed overnight at Williams' home, prosecutors said, and a neighbor overheard them arguing into the early morning hours of Dec. 12.
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It wasn't until 7 p.m. on Dec. 12, however, that prosecutors said Williams called his cousin and a friend to tell them that Parker was "foaming at the mouth, and he did not know what to do." The cousin then called 911 and paramedics "arrived and found [Parker] lying in an open closet with a blanket covering all but her head."
Parker was found unresponsive in the 7200 block of South Phillips Avenue, Chicago police said.
Emergency responders found a necklace lodged in Parker's throat and her neck was "red and cut." She was pronounced dead at the scene.
When questioned by police Williams said the pair had fallen asleep together and Parker didn't wake up the next day. He denied arguing the night before, prosecutors said.
The Cook County Medical examiner later ruled Parker died from strangulation.
According to officials, Williams, who also has a warrant out of Colorado Spring from a 2019 strangulation case, was arrested Saturday.
Prosecutors said a search warrant of Williams' phone revealed videos of him touching Parker's dead body at around 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 12. His search history allegedly included more than 50 searches related to strangulation, Parker's name, the death penalty, murder, how to explain asphyxiation death and more.
