Watch: Chicago Hate Crime Torture Victim Says One Of His Abusers Was A 'Friend He Idolized' Prior To Attack
More details are surfacing after video of a brutal attack on a special needs teenager made national news.
The 18-year-old boy, whose name has yet to be released, was tortured for hours by four friends and has said little about the attack other than he “idolized” one of his alleged abusers. Janet Grant, the aunt of the victim, told The Daily Mail her nephew couldn’t understand why he was being abused by people he thought were his friends.
“[The victim] just keeps saying, 'Why, why? Jordan was my friend. He's been my friend for a couple of years,” Grant said in describing her son and his questioning of alleged abuser Jordan Hill’s action. “They went to school together, they both had problems. He adores Jordan. I don't know Jordan but [the victim] really liked him. It's one thing if they didn't know each other but [the victim] idolized him.”
Hill, along with Brittany Covington, her sister Tanisha Covington, and Tesfaye Cooper allegedly bound, beat, cut, burned and forced their victim to drink from a toilet during a six-hour period of abuse. They have been charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated unlawful restraint, aggravated battery and a hate crime.
Grant says her nephew has been mentally scarred and described the horrible details of what supposedly went down. “He's got enough problems already. They put cigarette butts out on his head, cut a hole in his scalp. Once they took him to Chicago, he had no meds for four days. He couldn't even fight back,” she explained. “Physically he'll heal but mentally… he'll always be looking over his shoulder. Probably won't trust anybody.”
It’s unclear whether the victim’s family will attend the first court appearance. All they can ask is “why?” A GoFundMe page has been set up in support of the victim and his family. The goal of $10,000 has been well-surpassed as over $40,000 has currently been raised.
Watch video of the alleged assault below.