A man accused of strangling a 15-year-old girl had searched the terms “death penalty” and “how to explain asphyxiation death” after the incident, prosecutors said.
Joshua Williams, 24, has been charged with murder in the death of Amarise A. Parker. Williams, who lives in the 7200 block of South Phillips Avenue in South Shore, where the attack happened, was also wanted on an out-of-state warrant, police said.
Williams and Parker were in a dating relationship, prosecutors said. On Dec. 11 she stayed overnight at his apartment, and a neighbor heard them arguing into the early hours the next day, prosecutors said.
About 7 p.m. the same day, Williams called his cousin and a friend and told them that Parker was foaming at the mouth and that Williams did not know what to do, prosecutors said.
Williams’ cousin called 911, and when paramedics arrived they found Parker unresponsive in an open closet with a blanket covering her body, prosecutors said. Paramedics found a necklace lodged in her throat and cuts on her face and throat, prosecutors said.
She was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.
An autopsy Dec. 13 determined Parker died of asphyxiation from strangulation, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Williams was arrested Dec. 16. He told police that Parker did not awaken after falling asleep. He said they hadn’t argued, according to police.
A search of his phone revealed several videos of Parker’s body prior to the 911 call. Police also found several internet searches related to murder, the death penalty and penalty for murder, prosecutors said.
A judge ordered Williams detained. He is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 10.
Parker, who lived in the 10900 block of South Wood Street in Morgan Park, had been missing since Aug. 30, according to her mother, Yahanna Clark.
Last week, Clark told reporters that her daughter “was a lovely soul. Everybody loved her.”
“She had reached out to me and was trying to come home,” Clark said.
