Uploaded February 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Christopher Whitaker, 44, faces multiple counts of aggravated murder, kidnapping, rape, burglary, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse in connection to 14 yr. old Alianna DeFreeze's death.
Police say, in Jan. 2017, Whitaker followed Alianna and snatched her up as she waited for an RTA bus to school near the intersection of East 93rd Street and Kinsman. He then took her to an abandoned home where she was raped and brutally murdered.
Alianna's body was found four days later in the abandoned home on Fuller Avenue.
"Homicide detectives were able to recover evidence at the crime scene that matches Alianna's DNA, evidence at the crime scene that matches the defendant, and finally, evidence from Alianna's body herself that matches the defendant," said Andrew Santolli from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.
Whitaker is a convicted sex offender who served almost four years in prison in the past. If convicted in Alianna's murder, Whitaker could face the death penalty.
Christopher Whitaker, 44, faces multiple counts of aggravated murder, kidnapping, rape, burglary, tampering with evidence and gross abuse of a corpse in connection to 14 yr. old Alianna DeFreeze's death.
Police say, in Jan. 2017, Whitaker followed Alianna and snatched her up as she waited for an RTA bus to school near the intersection of East 93rd Street and Kinsman. He then took her to an abandoned home where she was raped and brutally murdered.
Alianna's body was found four days later in the abandoned home on Fuller Avenue.
"Homicide detectives were able to recover evidence at the crime scene that matches Alianna's DNA, evidence at the crime scene that matches the defendant, and finally, evidence from Alianna's body herself that matches the defendant," said Andrew Santolli from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.
Whitaker is a convicted sex offender who served almost four years in prison in the past. If convicted in Alianna's murder, Whitaker could face the death penalty.
