Suspected killer of Kyrian Knox complained he was 'not being paid enough' to babysit the 2-year-old

Jeff Mayes — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 10:59:38 -0600

By RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Kamel Harris | Chicago Police

Kamel Harris told someone he “snapped” when he killed 2-year-old Kyrian Knox and threw the toddler’s dismembered body into the Garfield Park lagoon, Cook County prosecutors said in court Wednesday.

The Rockford man also confessed to another person that he had “f—– up” and “something terrible happened” just days before the boy’s body parts—including his head—were found inside a plastic bag attached to barbell weights in the water over Labor Day weekend last year, Assistant State’s Attorney Jamie Santini said.

Harris was allegedly under the impression that if a body was found without a head, Kyrian couldn’t be identified. He also figured the severed body parts would decompose, making if difficult to extract fingerprints, prosecutors said.

Though it took more than a year to arrest Harris for murder, concealment of a homicidal death and dismembering a human body, forensic tests confirmed the DNA evidence from the remains matched those of Kyrian, authorities said.

While Santini didn’t provide further explanation as to how the boy was killed in late August 2015, he said Harris wrapped Kyrian’s lifeless body, placed it in the backseat of a borrowed Chevrolet Camaro, and drove to Chicago where he cut it up and disposed of it.

Kyrian Knox | Rockford Police Dept.

Several blood drops inside the sports car matched Kyrian’s DNA, Santini said.

Harris allegedly killed the lactose-intolerant boy because he wouldn’t stop crying after he was given milk.

He then had family members threaten potential witnesses, Santini said.

Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil said Harris was a “danger to himself and society” before ordering him held without bond.

Harris, 41, had promised to watch Kyrian and his 2-year-old grandson as Kyrian’s mother and Harris’ daughter moved their families to Iowa, Santini said.

He accompanied the women to the store to buy things he’d need for the boys on Aug. 19, 2015, Santini said.

The women went to Chicago for two days before returning to Rockford to finalize efforts to get public aid so Harris could watch Kyrian, Santini said.

When Harris later told a witness he killed Kyrian, he complained that he was not getting paid enough to babysit Kyrian in the Rockford house he shared with his son, his girlfriend and her two sons, Santini said.

By September 2015, Harris was getting harder to reach. Kyrian’s mother and Harris’ daughter would call and text to check up on their sons but soon, Harris wasn’t responding to Kyrian’s mother’s texts, Santini said.

After his daughter finally got hold of him to tell him she and Kyrian’s mother would be coming home on the weekend of Sept. 12 or Sept. 19 to pick up the boys, Harris stopped answering both women’s calls and texts, Santini said.

By Sept. 5, Kyrian’s severed hands, feet and head were found in the West Side lagoon, along with several weights with plastic bags knotted through the center. But investigators didn’t know they were Kyrian’s remains at the time.

Less than two weeks later, on Sept. 17, Kyrian’s mother called Harris’ girlfriend and asked her about her son’s whereabouts. She was told Harris would call her back, Santini said.

That same day, Harris called Rockford police and reported Kyrian missing. He told authorities he turned Kyrian over to people he thought were Kyrian’s mother’s friends and had not seen the toddler since, Santini said.

Meanwhile, investigators learned Kyrian had not been seen at Harris’ residence since the last weekend of August 2015, Santini said.

Around that time, a friend said Harris borrowed the Camaro to drive to Chicago. The Camaro was caught on an IPass camera shortly after 6 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2015, Santini said.

Harris had been in custody in Winnebago County for a pending aggravated battery case against a Department of Children and Family Services worker, Santini said.

Harris lived in Chicago until 2005, when he moved to Iowa and worked at a temp agency, according to Assistant Public Defender Kevin Ochalla said.

Harris moved to Rockford in 2011, where he was enrolled in trade school for hair design, Ochalla said.

Rockford man charged with murder, dismemberment of 2-year-old Kyrian Knox, whose body parts were found in lagoon

Jeff Mayes — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 09:57:58 -0600

By SAM CHARLES
Chicago Sun-Times

Kamel Harris | Chicago Police

A Rockford man has been charged with killing 2-year-old Kyrian Knox last year because the toddler wouldn’t stop crying, then dumping the boy’s dismembered body in the Garfield Park lagoon.

Kamel Harris, 41, faces one count each of first-degree murder, concealment of a homicidal death, and dismembering a human body, Chicago Police announced Tuesday. He is due in bond court Wednesday.

Harris killed the lactose-intolerant boy after he drank some milk and wouldn’t stop crying, Chicago Police Cmdr. Kevin Duffin said at a press conference on the banks of the lagoon where Kyrian’s decapitated body was found last September.

“The baby apparently ingested some milk and the baby was lactose intolerant, and kept crying all afternoon,” Duffin said. “[Harris] kind of just snapped.”

After taking Harris’ vehicle into custody and obtaining a search warrant, Kyrian’s blood was found inside, Duffin said, though investigators believe the child was killed in Rockford.

Kyrian Knox | Rockford Police Dept.

“The vast amount of evidence here in Chicago and the fact that Chicago Police have done most of the investigation, it was determined he would be charged here in Cook County,” Duffin said.

Harris was watching Kyrian at the time he was killed in September of 2015, Duffin said. Harris eventually reported the child missing to Rockford police, though he came to Garfield Park to dispose of the child’s remains because he was familiar with the area.

Kyrian’s exact cause of death remains undetermined 14 months after his death.

Last year, the Cook County medical examiner’s office ruled Kyrian’s death a “homicide by unspecified means.”

“The baby had been entrusted to him by the baby’s mother and he made a false report to the Rockford police that the baby had gone missing,” Duffin said.

Kyrian’s mother, Lanisha Knox, told investigators she left her son with Harris while she moved from Rockford to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Harris was in police custody in Winnebago County on another charge when police arrested him in Kyrian’s murder Monday night, Duffin said.

Sgt. Angel Romero, of the police department dive team, said divers were initially called to the park after someone found a child’s foot.

Divers soon found another foot, two hands and, ultimately, the boy’s head, Romero said.

“It was pretty difficult to deal with,” Romero said. “Probably one of the most difficult things I’ve had to deal with in my 29 years on the job.”

Harris was expected to appear in bond court Wednesday, Duffin said.

In November 2015, investigators said they’d hit a wall in the investigation as the last known people to have seen the boy alive were not cooperating with police.

Based on the missing person report, Chicago Police went to Rockford to collect DNA from Kyrian’s mother, which matched the remains found in the lagoon.

Kamel Harris | Homicide Watch Chicago

Suspected killer of Kyrian Knox complained he was 'not being paid enough' to babysit the 2-year-old

Rockford man charged with murder, dismemberment of 2-year-old Kyrian Knox, whose body parts were found in lagoon