A convicted child sex offender is accused of killing a 15-year-old girl and hiding her body in a dumpster, Illinois police say.
Timothy Doll, 29, was in “a dating relationship” with the high school victim, Gracie Sasso-Cleveland, according to the DeKalb Police Department. He has now been charged with murder, among other charges.
“He’s a predator, and he sought out this 15 year old, and snuffed her life out,” DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd told .
Gracie was last seen Thursday, May 4, and DeKalb officers were notified Saturday about her disappearance. Phone records indicated she had been at a home in DeKalb, according to police.
On Sunday, authorities found Gracie’s body in a dumpster on the same property where phone records had pinged her. The discovery was made near Northern Illinois University’s campus.
Doll, a registered sex offender, was arrested Sunday and formally charged Monday. Police said he killed Gracie as they were arguing.
“He held the victim down and suffocated her with a pillow until she lost consciousness, to which she did not recover,” police said. “He later put her body in the dumpster, removed her personal items from his apartment and threw her phone away in the garbage at another location.”
Gracie’s cause of death was listed as asphyxiation, the coroner’s office ruled.
Doll was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated criminal sex abuse, concealment of a homicide, aggravated domestic battery, two counts of obstruction of justice, unlawful restraint and unlawful communication by a child sex offender.
Loved ones said during a vigil Monday that Gracie was a “very loving, loyal girl,” Mister Truth reported.
“She fought to her last breath. She was the sweetest soul in the world and all she ever wanted was to give love and be loved,” Jessica Schlick told .
Shaw Local reported that Gracie was a freshman at DeKalb High School.
“It is with sadness that I share the news today that the students and staff of DeKalb High School, along with the entire District 428, experienced a tragedy today with the death of one of our freshman students,” school district Superintendent Minerva Garcia-Sanchez said in an email to families, according to Shaw Local. “All of us are grieving this tragic loss.”
Loved ones said in a GoFundMe they hope to plan a Sweet Sixteen funeral for Gracie “to embrace happiness and good memories.”
“Gracie was an extremely amazing makeup artist, always on point with her outfits and hair, and she also played the violin,” according to the GoFundMe. “Gracie never (met) … an animal she didn’t love immediately and want to keep. She was a blessing as a sister, a daughter, and a friend to all.”
DeKalb is about 65 miles west of Chicago.