Suspects in abduction of Crystal Lake teen face hate crime, other felony charges

The four people accused of taunting and torturing a mentally ill Crystal Lake man and streaming it on Facebook Live now face multiple felony charges.

Chicago police announced the charges Thursday against the alleged assailants, three of whom are from Chicago and one from Carpentersville, although Carpentersville police dispute that. The two men and two women face multiple felony charges, including hate crime charges – the 18-year-old victim is white, and the four assailants are black.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Jordan Hill, 18, of Carpentersville; Tesfaye Cooper, 18, of Chicago; Brittany Covington, 18, of Chicago; and Tanisha Covington, 24, of Chicago. Besides the hate crime charge, all four face charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated unlawful restraint and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Cooper and Brittany Covington also face residential burglary charges, while Hill also faces charges of robbery and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

The disturbing 30-minute video, which has sparked national outrage, shows the 18-year-old man, who according to police reports suffers from mental illness, cowering in the corner of a room, tied up with his mouth taped shut. In the video, the man is beaten, gets his hair cut with a knife and has ashes from what appear to be cigarettes dumped on him. They also kick and punch him, at times shouting “f*** white people” and “f*** Donald Trump.” A second online video showed the assailants shoving the victim’s head in a toilet and forcing him to drink from it, after which he was forced to yell obscenities about Trump.

Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson at Thursday’s afternoon news conference announcing the charges condemned the “deplorable acts” committed by the suspects.

“Let me be very clear – the actions in that video are reprehensible,” Johnson said. “That, along with racism, have absolutely no place in the city of Chicago, or any place for that matter, regardless of their race, gender, state of mental health or any other identifying factor.”

Police during the 15-minute conference shed some new light on how the crime unfolded and how the victim was rescued.

The victim’s parents dropped him off on New Year’s Eve at a McDonald’s in Streamwood to meet up with Hill to spend the night. Hill picked him up in a van he had recently stolen, unbeknownst to the victim, to visit with friends, police Cmdr. Kevin Duffin said. Duffin said the victim and Hill knew one another from attending school together in Aurora.

The parents filed a missing person report Monday with the Streamwood Police Department, according to the report obtained under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. Streamwood police listed him as endangered because of his mental health history and the fact that he had last taken his medication Saturday.

Hill and the victim ended up Tuesday at the West Side apartment of Brittany and Tanisha Covington, who are sisters. Apparently, a play fight between the victim and Hill got out of control, leading the suspects to get angry and overpower and bind the victim. The assault, part of which was streamed live by the suspects, took place over a six-hour period, Duffin said.

The victim escaped when the sisters went to a downstairs apartment to challenge a neighbor who threatened to call the police because of the noise. The sisters kicked in the neighbor’s door, prompting the police to be called and the sisters each to be charged with burglary, police said.

Officer Michael Donnelly, one of the police officers responding to the call about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, said that he noticed the victim and Hill walking down the street and stopped them because the victim was bloodied and battered, wearing a tank top, jean shorts and sandals in the cold.

Duffin said the victim has been reunited with his parents.

At a news conference held Thursday in Crystal Lake, the victim’s family said he is doing “as well as he could be at this time.”

“We’re so grateful for all the prayers and efforts that led to the safe return of our brother,” the victim’s brother-in-law, David Boyd, said on behalf of the family. “We are fully aware of the charges being brought against the offenders.”

The family said they had seen the video, and the attack “should never have happened.” They asked for prayers and privacy as they heal.

Johnson said they have statements from all four suspects, and Duffin said they were not apologetic for their actions.

Authorities did not specify at the conference under what grounds the defendants were charged with hate crimes. Under Illinois law, hate crime charges can be filed not only for attacks based on racial or religious reasons, but also for physical and mental disability.

The Carpentersville Police Department said in a statement that there is no information confirming that Hill is a resident. Likewise, the report filed with Streamwood police stated that Quadcomm, the dispatching agency for Carpentersville, confirmed that the address Hill gave during a previous encounter with Streamwood police does not exist.

All four suspects have 1 p.m. hearings Friday in Cook County bond court.

Facebook has removed the video. Its community standards forbid the facilitating of criminal activity or celebrating crimes committed by users. The company removes such content, disables offending accounts and works with law enforcement in cases of "a genuine risk of physical harm or direct threats to public safety."