Adult charged in torture, death of teen
Man believed boy knew who stole game system, according to complaint
A 21-year-old man is accused of torturing and killing a missing teenager over allegations that he knew who stole a video game system before burning the teen’s body and dumping his remains in a vacant Milwaukee house.
Malik M. Terrell faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide in the death of 15-year-old Dennis King, known by the nickname “Boo Man.”
Dennis was reported missing last Thursday after he had not been seen or heard from since May 11. His mother told police she knew her son had friends in the area of North 12th Street and West Keefe Avenue.
According to the criminal complaint:
Terrell and his relatives believed Dennis knew “Jermaine,” the person they suspected of stealing a video game system.
Terrell brought the teen to a home on May 11 to try to get him to talk about the alleged theft and tell him where “Jermaine” could be found.
He then attacked Dennis with a hammer, repeatedly beating him. Terrell’s brother and halfbrother were present at the time.
At one point, Terrell told his relatives to lock him outside the house so he could force his way back inside, apparently to make it look like a home invasion.
Terrell then called 911 and reported “Jermaine” and an accomplice had broken in and robbed them at gunpoint, taking the gaming system. He identified himself by his full name, gave the address on North 12th Street and said he had detained “Dennis King.”
The caller became irate and ended the 911 call “by simply stating that he is going to kill the person he has detained,” the complaint says.
The 911 operator apparently misheard the caller and sent police and paramedics to an address on 10th Street that does not exist, and the first responders could not find the caller.
Meanwhile, back inside the house on North 12th Street, Terrell told his half-brother to go find some lighter fluid.
When the half-brother returned, he saw Terrell stabbing Dennis in the neck. The half-brother left.
Another brother who had witnessed the beating later told the halfbrother that he had helped Terrell move the teen’s body to a vacant house using a garbage cart and they had burned his body.
Terrell left for Chicago on May 14.
On May 17, Dennis’ mother reported him missing to police and said she knew he had friends in the 3300 block of North 12th Street.
Two days later, she went to look for her son in that area and spoke with a child who told her Dennis had been held against his will and beaten inside a nearby house.
When she knocked on the door of the house, a woman answered. When she asked the woman about Dennis, the woman replied: “My older son did it.”
Dennis’ mother called police and officers responded and questioned Terrell’s half-brother, who gave an account of what happened. Police then went to the vacant house, forced their way in and found the teen’s burned remains in the basement.
Terrell was arrested Monday in Chicago.