Tyshawn Lee Murder: Trial To Begin For Two Men Accused In Execution-Style Killing Of 9-Year-Old Boy
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Opening statements are expected to begin Tuesday in the trials of two purported gang members accused of the "targeted assassination" of 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee in 2015, as an act of revenge against the boy's father, who is an alleged member of a rival gang.
Two separate juries have been selected to decide the fates of 31-year-old Corey Morgan and 25-year-old Dwright Boone-Doty, who are accused of targeting Tyshawn in retaliation for the gang-killing of Morgan's brother. Both men are charged with first-degree murder.
Authorities have said Tyshawn's father was a member of a rival gang suspected of killing Morgan's brother.
Police and prosecutors have said Morgan and Boone-Doty spotted Tyshawn playing basketball at Dawes Park at 80th and Damen on Nov. 2, 2015.
Authorities said Boone-Doty lured Tyshawn into a nearby alley with the promise of a juice box, and shot him multiple times at close range.
Authorities have said Boone-Doty admitted his role in Tyshawn's death and said when he shot the boy, he "seen that bitch go in his head."
"This was a targeted assassination," acting Chicago Police Supt. John Escalante said at the time. "These are calculated killers whose actions define the words brutality and cowardice."
A third man, 26-year-old Kevin Edwards, has pleaded guilty in exchange for a 25-year sentence. Prosecutors have said he was the getaway driver in Tyshawn's slaying.
On the day Boone-Doty first appeared in court accused of killing Tyshawn, the boy's father, Pierre Stokes, allegedly opened fire on gang rivals, wounding three of them, authorities have said. Stokes is in jail awaiting trial on aggravated battery and other charges in that attack.