Man, 31, facing murder charge in stabbing death of autistic Chicago HS senior

CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A 31-year-old man has been charged with stabbing a popular special needs student at Whitney Young High School to death nearly a year ago in East Garfield Park.

Darryl Ray, also of East Garfield Park, has been charged with first-degree murder after DNA evidence linked him to the death of Brandon Porter-Young in February 2018, according to Chicago police.

Ray was expected to appear for a bail hearing Friday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.

He was being held without bail at the Cook County Jail on another charge when he was charged Wednesday with killing Porter-Young, according to police and Cook County sheriff’s office records.

Porter-Young, 18, had been diagnosed with autism and had limited verbal skills, Whitney Young Principal Joyce Dorsey Kenner told the Sun-Times last year.

Staff and students remembered Porter-Young for his ever-present smile and his love of basketball and gardening.

Around 10 p.m. last Feb. 2, Porter-Young was found with multiple stab wounds to his upper body in a room at the Jr Plaza Hotel II, 3001 W. Jackson Blvd., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Porter-Young had been living in the hotel room with his mother, who worked for the hotel, another employee said.