The aunt of a six-month-old infant who was killed when two teens collided an allegedly stolen car with a pickup truck tore Cook County Attorney Kim Foxx for her decision to charge only the boys with misdemeanours.
Annelies Rivera spoke to “Fox and Friends” Still reeling, Tuesday, from the death of her nephew Christian Ophidia, who succumbed to his injuries in the April 16 plane crash.
Directing her comments to the district attorney, Rivera said, “I want to know how you (Fox) sleep at night, see the picture of my nephew on the screen, how you see his face and think his life means absolutely nothing.”
“The prosecutor has blood on her hands, like the people who did it,” she continued.
The suspects, who range in age from 14 to 17, each face one count of criminal trespassing, but police said the charges could be moved pending further investigation into the wreck.
Cook County State Attorney Annelies Rivera has slammed Kim Foxx for her decision to charge two teens with misdemeanors after they allegedly crashed a stolen car, killing her nephew.
Foxx (pictured) is receiving backlash from the family after the DA’s office charged the suspects, who ranged between 14 and 17, with a single count of criminal trespass — a misdemeanor — but police said the charges could be moved pending further investigation into the incident.
Police say that around 5 p.m. on April 16, the boys were driving down a western Washington road in a stolen Hyundai sedan when they tore through an intersection and crashed into a pickup truck.
Baby Christian, his 34-year-old mother and two older sisters, ages 7 to 17, were in the truck that was hit. Christian died of his injuries the next day.
His family remains hospitalized at Strugger Hospital but is expected to make a full recovery.
Just a week after the tragedy, Rivera spoke on “Fox & Friends,” outraged that the teens had only been charged with misdemeanors.
‘It’s really, really disappointing, and it just doesn’t make any sense… There’s not even justice for the person whose car they stole. Criminal trespassing? What, did they car trespass? It makes absolutely no sense.’
She said she had blood on her hands like the suspects who wrecked her family’s stolen car.
It’s so absurd. It’s really the biggest slap on the wrist, but it’s totally a slap in the face for us,” Rivera continued. I don’t know if the people who made these accusations had children, but I think anyone, even without children, can understand that this is wrong.
Six-month-old Christian Ophidia was killed when a stolen car crashed into his family’s truck
On April 16, two boys were speeding down a western Washington road in a stolen Hyundai sedan when they tore through an intersection and crashed into a pickup truck, police said. Pictured: pieces of cars and pieces of wood from a tree where the cars landed
The stolen Hyundai moments before it crashed into the family’s truck in Chicago
The tree a car crashed into after the fatal crash in Chicago
Sadly, tragedy is another daily occurrence in Chicago, Rivera said.
You are putting salt in our wounds. You do not bring us justice, and even if you did something, we would never return our child. never. There is no real justice.
She continued, “This is something I would never wish on my worst enemy, honestly… It’s not a question of if this will happen to another child, but of when.”
“This is an everyday occurrence in Chicago.”
“We’re just as confused as the city of Chicago is about why this happened,” she added. It’s really disheartening, and it’s really annoying.
Rivera noted that neither the Foxx family nor the police have yet contacted them about the investigation.
A week has passed. We were not contacted by the police or the DA from what I understand, Rivera said.
Rivera described her nephew as happy and full of life, adding that he “always had this big smile on his face, and he loved to sing and dance.”
After the collision, neighbors rushed outside to pull Christian out of the car and attempt CPR.
“Unfortunately, he died brain dead, and then he died the next day,” Rivera said.
They stole a car, and they stole our whole life at that moment. I don’t know what the price of a car was, but I’m sure it wasn’t equivalent to the life of a child.
The tragedy was the latest example of the criminal mayhem that has gripped Chicago in recent years under the watchful eye of Fox, whose office has dismissed thousands of violent crime cases since she was sworn in in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.
The tragedy was the latest example of the criminal mayhem that has gripped Chicago in recent years under the watchful eye of Fox, whose office has dismissed thousands of violent crime cases since she was sworn in in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.
Total crime was up 47 percent year-over-year, with burglaries, sexual assault, and robbery all rising.
Theft rose by a remarkable 25 percent.
However, homicides and shootings decreased.
This past weekend’s wild events brought to light a complex law-and-order situation when a mob of over a hundred rowdy teens turned violent in downtown Chicago.
Dozens burned and smashed cars while blasting music in a “shout of teenagers” that left two gunshot wounds.
Shocking footage showed some teenagers jumping onto a bus while others started a massive brawl after they descended into Millennium Park and tried to break through barriers.
Gunshots were heard as some of the rounds hit two boys, aged 16 and 17.
The two youths were taken to a nearby hospital in fair condition. A total of 15 people, nine adults and six children, were arrested.
Shocking footage showed some of the teens jumping onto a bus while others started a massive brawl after they descended into Millennium Park and tried to break through barriers.
The rowdy group set cars on fire and scuffled before the shooting ended for the night
Police said most of the charges related to reckless conduct, but a 16-year-old boy was also charged with illegal use of a weapon, and a firearm was found. An adult and juvenile was also charged with possession of a stolen vehicle.
Cars were also vandalized near East Washington Street, including a Tesla.
Chicago politicians, many of whom have been criticized for being nice to crime, wrote off Criminal Iniquities Night, saying it was just a few bad eggs in a sea of revelers, or even a political demonstration.
Outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot zeroed in on the event, telling a local reporter that she thinks calling the weekend’s scene “chaotic” is incorrect.
“The vast majority of young people who came downtown came downtown because the weather was great and it was an opportunity to enjoy the city. It’s just right, just right,” Lightfoot said, advocating for the teens.
She added, “There are a few who came with different intentions. They have and will be dealt with. But I will not use your language, which I think is wrong, to say that there is ‘anarchy’.
Kim Fox: A Timeline of the Controversial Incidents
Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx has been on the end of many controversies during her tenure.
Jussie Smollett Claims: A classified 68-page report detailing errors and multiple instances of false statements made by Foxx and its prosecutors in the initial investigation of Smollett was released in December 2021. The special prosecutor handling the report said Foxx may have violated legal ethics but neither she nor anyone else In her office he did nothing criminal.
Criticism of Smollett’s 150-day jail sentence: Foxx claimed that Jussie Smollett’s 150-day jail sentence is “mob justice” and an example of a system failing. Writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, she called the case “a harmful, costly, and deceitful criminal trial of Jussie Smollett” and said that Smollett was guilty from the start, ignoring whether or not he had committed the crime Judge James Lane said. In judging him he amounted to “amazing hypocrisy”.
Foxx gained notoriety in 2019 when it dropped criminal charges against Jussie Smollett, the Empire actress convicted of making a racist, homophobic attack on himself in January 2019.
Donations from liberal billionaire George Soros: Soros, the largest and most prolific Democratic donor, is best known for giving to Presidents Clinton and Obama, but he has also been funneling money into a far-left effort to reform the criminal justice system by giving millions to a network of sober prosecutors in Democratic races. In 2020, Soros donated $2 million to a PAC that supported Foxx in its re-election campaign.
Chicago crime rate: In 2021, there were more homicides in Chicago than in any other year since 1994. There were over 1,000 homicides in Cook County, Fox County, that year. Soros furthered her re-election campaign by donating to the Illinois Commission on Justice and Public Safety.
