The mother of a 6-year-old boy who was reported missing this week and later found dead in Indiana has been charged with killing her son, Lake County officials announced Saturday.
Two of the boy’s siblings also face charges in connection with his death.
Jannie Perry, 38, reported her son, Damari Perry, was missing Wednesday evening, according to North Chicago Police.
The mother told officers that she, Damari and his 16-year-old sister were driven to a party in the Skokie area by a man and woman, where she had several drinks and fell asleep, police said.
When she woke up about two hours later, Damari and the man were missing, and the woman had allegedly driven the 16-year-old back to North Chicago, police said Jannie Perry told them.
Damari’s body was found by FBI agents about 4:45 a.m. Sunday, in an alley between Harrison Street and Van Buren Avenue, in Gary, according to the Lake County coroner’s office. When he was found, he was wrapped in a plastic trash bag and his body was partially charred.
An autopsy conducted Tuesday determined that his official cause of death was hypothermia, the coroner’s office said. His death was ruled a homicide.
Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart called the mother’s story “completely false,” but in a statement Saturday announcing charges, but didn’t release additional information.
Jannie Perry, of North Chicago, faces a count of first-degree murder in the boy’s death, the state’s attorney office said. Damari’s 20-year-old brother, Jeremiah Perry, was charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm to a child under 12, concealing a homicidal death and obstructing justice.
Another of the boy’s siblings, who is under 18, will face unspecified charges in juvenile court, the state’s attorney’s office said.
Additional juvenile members of the family had been placed in DCFS care, officials said.
