On Friday, Cleveland Police confirmed charges were filed against a man alleging he killed a 14-year-old Cleveland girl.
His name is Christopher Whitaker, 44, and he is charged with aggravated murder, though that's not the only name he's known by.
Police found the body of 14-year-old Alianna DeFreeze inside an abandoned Fuller Avenue home on Sunday. Alianna was reported missing by her mother after it was discovered she never showed up for school last Thursday. Alianna was last seen getting off an RTA bus at the corner of E. 93rd Street and Kinsman Road Thursday morning.
DNA evidence found at the Fuller Avenue scene was linked to Whitaker, who has prior convictions of assault and sexual battery. In 2005, he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 45-year-old woman inside her Bedford Heights apartment. According to the victim, Whitaker asked to use her restroom and came out armed with a pair of scissors before assaulting her.
Police say they aren't sure how Whitaker and Alianna were connected. Court records list Whitaker's address in South Euclid, though his booking photo issued by the Bedford Heights Police Department lists Whitaker with a Maple Heights address.
WKYC has also learned that Whitaker is a Garfield High School alumnus, where he was known as Chris Summers. He grew up on E. 144th Street.
WKYC has also learned that Whitaker is both a father and a grandfather. Former classmates describe him as "creepy" and "aggressive" but say they would not have guessed he was a sexual predator.
Police say the investigation remains in the early stages, meaning they haven't found any links between Alianna's murder and other homicides that have occurred in the E. 93rd Street area.
