Account
Jan 27, 2026
Jan 27, 2026
Joshua
Justin Summeries
5
5
Unknown inches
Black
Male
In the late summer of 2013, a heart-wrenching story unfolded in Zion, Illinois, with the disappearance of five-month-old Joshua Justin Summeries. The infant was last seen on August 19, 2013. The initial report to authorities was confusing and filled with inconsistencies. Joshua's mother, Kisha Summeries, at first told police that a man had snatched her son through an apartment window. However, her story soon changed, and she later indicated that her boyfriend, Demetries Thorpe, had gone to quiet the baby during the night, and the infant had not been seen since. This inconsistency immediately raised suspicions among investigators. As law enforcement delved deeper into the case, the focus quickly shifted to Demetries Thorpe. After initially claiming the baby had been abducted, a story he told Kisha before fleeing the apartment, Thorpe was located by police and brought in for questioning. Under interrogation, the tragic truth of Joshua's fate was revealed. Thorpe confessed to killing the infant. He admitted to suffocating five-month-old Joshua with his hand in an attempt to stop him from crying. This confession transformed the missing person case into a homicide investigation, sending shockwaves through the community and devastating Joshua's family. Following his confession, Thorpe detailed how he had placed Joshua's small body into a backpack and disposed of it in a garbage can behind the apartment building. Surveillance footage later captured him moving the backpack from the can into a larger dumpster just before a garbage truck was scheduled to empty it. This led to a massive and desperate search effort at a 330-acre landfill on Green Bay Road. For four agonizing days, investigators and emergency workers sifted through refuse, hoping to find the infant and bring some measure of closure to his family. Despite their exhaustive efforts, Joshua's body was never recovered. Demetries Thorpe was charged with first-degree murder and ultimately pleaded guilty, receiving a 30-year prison sentence without the possibility of parole. The case of Joshua Summeries is a profound tragedy, a story that began as a missing child report and concluded with a murder conviction, but without the final peace of laying the infant to rest.
Aug 19, 2013
Zion
Illinois
Zion
Zion Police Department
05/13/2026
