HY411806
Bond Court Proffer
Defendant(s):
KAMEL HARRIS 41 YOA
Date/Time: On or about August 31, 2015
Location: Rockford IL & Chicago Illinois
VICTIM:
KYRIAN KNOX 2 YOA male whose dismembered body was found in
Garfield Park Lagoon in the West Side of the City of Chicago on
September 5, 2015.
In August of 2015 2 year old Kyrian Knox's mother had made plans to
move her family to Iowa. Kyrian’s mothers friend who is also the
defendant's daughter and her 2 year old son, were also moving to
Iowa. The two women planned to go to Iowa prior to their final move.
They asked the Defendant, Kamel Harris, if he would watch the two
young boys while they went to Iowa and got things set up for their
families ahead of the move. Kamel Harris was living in Rockford
Illinois at the time along with his son, his girlfriend and her two sons.
Kamel Harris agreed to watch the boys until their mothers got things
settled in Iowa. Kamel Harris and Kyrian’s mother agreed to apply for
public aid to help for the care Kyrian while he was being cared for by
the defendant,
On August 19, 2015, 2 year old Kyrian Knox and the defendant's two
year grandson were dropped off at Kamel Harris’s house in Rockford
Illinois. Before leaving both women accompanied Kamel Harris to a
store to purchase items he would need to care for the boys. The two
women then drove to Chicago and remained there until August 21,
2015. They made one final trip back to Rockford before leaving for
Towa to finalize their efforts to get public aid for the care of Kyrian.
Both women then left Rockford Illinois leaving Kyrian Knox in the care
of Kamel Harris. While they were gone both women would call and
text the defendant and his girlfriend often to check on the boys.
Beginning in the first week of September of 2015, the D became
increasingly difficult to reach. He would not answer his phone orrespond to text messages form Kyrian’s mother. On or about
September 7, 2015, the defendant's daughter was finally able to reach
the defendant and informed him that she and Kyrian’s mother would
be by to pick up the boys on the weekend of September 12™ or 19
After this call Kamel Harris would not respond to any of either
woman's calls or texts.
On September 5, 2015 Chicago police Officers responded to a 911 call
from a citizen who had found a human foot floating in the Garfield Park
lagoon. When CPD officers arrived they observed the severed left foot
of a small child floating in the lagoon. The area was secured and a
thorough search of the lagoon was made by the Chicago PD. During
that search CPD officers found the severed right foot of a small child
that had been cut off just above the ankle bone. They also discovered
the severed left and right hand of a small child floating at the water’s
edge of the lagoon.
CPD officers also found several barbell weights with plastic bags
knotted through the center of the weights. The bags had split open.
Police continued to search the lagoon over the next several days
including a thorough search of the bottom of the lagoon. They would
eventually find another barbell weight with a knotted plastic bag
attached to it. That plastic bag contained the severed head of a young
boy. No other body parts including the torso of the young boy were
ever located. Chicago Police detectives then went about trying to
identify the severed remains they recovered in the Garfield Lagoon.
On September 17, 2015, Kyrian's mother was able to reach the
defendant's girlfriend and texted that she was looking for the
defendant and her son. Kamel Harris’ girlfriend texted her back that
she would have the defendant call her back.
Later that same day Kamel Harris called the Rockford Police
Department to report that 2 year old Kyrian Knox was missing. In an
interview with Rockford Police officers Kamel Harris stated that he
was caring for Kyrian Knox but that on August 28, 2015 he turned
over Kyrian to people whom he believed to be Kyrian’s mother friends
and that he had not seen the two year old since then. Kyrian’s mother
had not sent anyone to pick up her son.
Rockford Police and Chicago Police continued with their separate
investigations.DNA samples from the severed remains were submitted for DNA
analysis and comparisons with a known DNA sample. DNA and
forensics tests on the remains found in Garfield Lagoon confirmed that
the remains found in the lagoon were those of 2 year old Kyrian Knox.
Investigators learned from witnesses that Kyrian was not seen in the
defendant's home from the last weekend of August on. A witness told
investigators that the defendant borrowed a Chevy Camaro to drive to
Chicago on August 31, 2015. An IPASS camera captured the Camaro
pulling into the Chicagoland area on 8/31/15 at approximately 6:04
pm.
Investigators also learned that on or about August 31, 2015 Kamel
Harris called a witness and said that he had “fucked up” something
terrible happened. Soon after that call Kamel Harris wrapped the
lifeless body of 2 year old Kyrian Knox and placed him the back seat of
the borrowed Camaro. He then drove Kyrian Knox to Chicago where he
dismembered and disposed of the Child’s severed remains in the
Garfield Lagoon in Chicago Cook County Illinois.
As part of their on-going investigation Chicago Police evidence
technicians processed the Camaro used by this defendant to move
Kyrian’s body. Several blood spot drops were collected from inside the
Camaro. DNA and forensics testing on blood drops from that Camaro
confirmed a match to the DNA of 2 year old Kyrian Knox.
Kamel Harris has made several third party admissions to witnesses
admitting his involvement in the murder and dismembering of Kyrian
Harris
Kamel Harris told a witness that he had killed a little boy who he had
been watching and that the little boy's mother hadn't given him
enough money to look after him. Kamel Harris told the W that he
snapped and the next thing he knew the little boy was on the ground
not responding. Kamel Harris admitted to taking Kyrian’s body to
Chicago and that he had dismembered the little boy's body because he
believed that the body couldn't be identified without the head and that
he believed that the severed body parts would decompose and that
authorities would not be able to get fingerprints from the decomposedparts make identification.
He admitted to a second witness, which was overheard by a third
witness, that he had killed a little boy named Kyrian, that he just
snapped and the boy was dead. He admitted to dumping the body in
Chicago and not in Rockford so that it wouldn’t be connected to him.
He also talked about threatening witnesses and having witnesses
threatened by others on his behalf.
Aggravation:
In custody on a pending aggravated battery to a DCFS worker
in Winnebago county Illinois
2000 conviction for Felony failure to from furlough 2 years
IDpoc
1997 conviction for PCS 30 mths probation
VOP filed resentenced to 4years IDOC
1994 Convi
1993 convi
years IDOC
n PPCS 1 year IDOC
n 18 mths probation violated resentenced to 3
5 prior BEW