Below is a short blurb I found today at the Chicago Daily Herald online:

Briefs: Body identified as teen

A body stuffed into a cardboard box a year ago on Chicago's Northwest Side has been identified as that of a Danville teenager. Chicago police said Monday they were able to identify 17-year-old Marlaina "Niki" Reed with the help of a forensic artist, a magazine and an observant Chicago dental employee. Police say a photograph of an artist-produced clay model of the teen's head and face and her dental X-rays were published in a dental magazine. That's where the employee recognized her. Reed's body was discovered last January. She'd been strangled and badly beaten, her body tied with cords. Police say Reed had lived in Chicago for about two years. They said she had lived in a group home and was a habitual runaway.

And this from the Chicago Tribune:

After a lucky break, police recently learned that the murder victim was 17-year-old Marlaina "Niki" Reed, a ward of the state who often ran away from the group home where she lived in Chicago.

"Somebody threw her in an alley and treated her like a piece of garbage," Sgt. Bryan Holy said.

Marlaina was a ward of the court which means she was in a foster care situation and placed in a group home. She most likely had to stay in a group home because she was too old and nobody wanted to foster a teenager in their home.

Based on condition of her body, strangled, badly beaten and tied with cords, she had probably turned to prostitution to survive on the streets. Her murderer is most likely her pimp or one of her customers.

The next time you hear of a runaway teen from a group home I hope you think of Marlaina and her fate.