On December 31, 2016, the victim, an 18-year-old white mentally-disabled male, was dropped off by his parents at a
McDonald's in suburban
Streamwood, Illinois, where the victim wanted to meet Jordan Hill, one of the perpetrators. The victim knew Hill before the incident, as the two had attended the same school in
Aurora, Illinois, and considered him a friend. On January 2, 2017, the victim's parents filed a report that he was missing. According to police reports, Hill had stolen a van, which he passed off as his own when he picked up the victim on December 31. Hill had the victim sleep in the van while he spent three nights visiting friends on the
West Side of Chicago. On January 3, Hill and Tesfaye Cooper drove the victim to the apartment of sisters Brittany and Tanishia Covington, where the four tied up and tortured the victim for hours. One of the perpetrators contacted the victim's mother and demanded a $300
ransom for the victim's return. The Facebook Live stream captured only 28 minutes of what was an hours-long attack. Police suspected that the perpetrators stopped and left the apartment when downstairs neighbors complained about noise levels. On January 3, at approximately 5:15 p.m., Harrison District Officer Michael Donnelly saw the victim walking with the perpetrator Hill. The victim was observed by Officer Donnelly to be wearing summer clothing during winter conditions. Police said the victim appeared "injured" and "confused". Donnelly later stated, "I observed him wearing a tank top, inside-out, backwards, jean shorts and sandals on...He was bloodied. He was battered. He was very discombobulated." Running the victim's name through police databases, Officer Donnelly discovered that the victim was reported as a missing person and brought him to the hospital. ==Perpetrators and legal proceedings==