Teen girl missing since August found strangled in South Shore

A 15-year-old girl who had been missing for months was found strangled in a South Shore apartment Tuesday night, police said.

Officers found Amarise Parker unresponsive just before 7:30 p.m. in a residence in the 7200 block of South Phillips Avenue, Chicago police said. She was dead at the scene.

Parker, who was reported missing from the 10900 block of South Wood Street, was last seen on Aug. 30 when she left her home after returning from school, according to a missing persons alert.

At a press conference Thursday night, the girl’s mother Yahanna Clark told reporters her daughter “was a lovely soul. Everybody loved her.”

She said her daughter had been missing on and off and was dating someone living in the building where her body was found.

“She had reached out to me and was trying to come home,” Clark said. Clark said she picked her up, but the girl left again and was later found dead.

An autopsy Wednesday determined Parker died of asphyxiation by strangulation and her death was ruled a homicide.

“She didn’t deserve this,” her mom told reporters.

No arrests have been reported.