Murder of Alianna DeFreeze
On January 26, 2017, Alianna DeFreeze, a fourteen-year-old girl from Cleveland, Ohio, was kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered by Christopher Whitaker. Whitaker, who had a criminal history involving grand theft, burglary, aggravated robbery, felonious assault, and sexual assault, took DeFreeze to an abandoned house, where he raped her. She was found beaten and stabbed to death using a hammer, a screwdriver, a nut driver, a box cutter, and a drill. DeFreeze, who attended school at E Prep & Village Prep Woodland Hills, was reported missing, causing a city-wide search. Her body was discovered three days later. Whitaker’s murder trial occurred in February 2018. Defense attorneys argued that Whitaker's drug use impaired his ability to control impulses and obey the law while prosecutors disagreed, saying that he knew what he was doing. The jury convicted Whitaker on February 13, 2018. Later, the jury recommended that Whitaker receive the death penalty and the judge upheld it. Whitaker is currently on death row. In 2019 DeFreeze’s parents filed a lawsuit against several people and entities arguing that the school's failure to notify them about DeFreeze’s absence and the failure to monitor abandoned properties led to her death. In 2022, DeFreeze’s family received a