A Chicago teen was charged Wednesday in the triple murders of his girlfriend's family and was ordered held without bond.
Denzel Pittman (pictured above), 18, had been reportedly dating Jade Hannah, 17. Late last Monday night, the couple allegedly got in to a heated argument that spiraled out of control. The couple had been sitting on a stoop at Hannah's residence, which she shared with her mother Stacy Cochran-Hill, 43 and younger sister Joi Cochran, 11.
Pittman allegedly began to strike then strangle Hannah. The troubled youth followed the beating by pulling out a knife and stabbing the young girl incessantly, 11 times in the neck, shoulder and chest. When Hannah screamed for help, Cochran-Hill tried to come to her rescue, but Pittman also managed to stab the mom 15 times in her chest, arms and hands. When Joi attempted to come to the aid of her mom and big sis, she, too, was stabbed in the chest and head.
According to police reports, witnesses told investigators they saw Pittman standing over one of his victims drenched in blood. They told police the young man fled the scene as soon as he was spotted. Police arrested Pittman, who also had a criminal record, soon after.
Pittman had been previously charged with domestic battery with Hannah. He also faces charges of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon from an incident that occurred earlier in the year. Investigators revealed that Pittman's family had actually been dealing with mental issues and were, in fact, all going to therapy but stopped due to a lack of funds.
Pittman graduated high school this past June and lived with his mother, stepdad, three sisters and two brothers. The young man whose Facebook page ironically states, that his interests are "to succeed in life" also took pre-med courses at Prairie State College.
As Cochran-Hill's family members sat solemnly in the courtroom during Pittman's hearing, her uncle Augustus McGill told a Chicago Sun-Times reporter, "It's just a tragic situation. Not just for our family but his family too. You raise your kids to be doctors and lawyers, but he just went the wrong way.''
16-Nov-10 - Forty-five years after he was killed by an Alabama State Trooper, Jimmie Lee Jackson, whose death lead to the first civil rights march on Selma, he is finally getting a small measure of justice.
12-Nov-10 - In a case better suited for Judge Mathis, Paula Cook is proceeding with her civil suit against Fantasia Barrino for an antiquated legal cause of action called "Alienation of Affection" in a North Carolina court.
Where's the outrage from the anti-knife organizers?!?! If this poor kid didn't have such easy access to a knife he wouldn't be in this predicament! He's just a hapless victim of his knife-rich environment.
Fair enough. This is a terrible story with no reasonable response other than sadness and pity for all involved. Not the time to take a stab at making a point. Oops...
I should have waited until after someone turned this into a race issue, or tried to blame it on a failure of 'The System' to provide something the parents should have but couldn't because of one excuse or another. I do commend the blogger for not steering us in that direction. It sounds like the guy just snapped. Domestic battery and weapons charges aside, it could have been anybody.
You wrote this story as though it was another day in crime! This was a Domestic Violence situation that escalated into the deaths of an entire family! Because Mrs. Cochran-Hill was an only child, her parents not only lost her but thay have no more grandchildren. This young man had been assulting Jade (17) for over a yr. On this day, when he began assulting her, she screamed and her mother (Cochran-Hill) who used a cane, came to help her and was stabbed to death. Joi (11yrs)- who probably witnessed everything was screaming when he went after her, stabbing her to death, as well! We must teach our daughters Not to hit or tolerate being hit. Domestic Violence against our young teens is climbing! Many times it starts with "play fighting" this is a no-no. May God continue to bless the parents of Stacy and the rest of their family...
Paul, so far you are the only person that has mentioned race. So, am I to believe that you are race baiting looking for a racist argument? The suspect graduated from high school, had attended college, lives in a two parent home - has nothing to do with race. It has to do with mental illness, lack of funds, and anger issues. Domestic violence isn't a racial issue. It is so sad that your lack of compassion overwhelms your point of interest.
What in the f*ck would cause people, especially a young teenager, to snap in the head and go on a killing spree like this? WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY F*CKING WHY? Some way, some how, congress needs to pass a law and implement which will allow it to take the suspect's/person's life once they have committed the senseless, dumb a**, treacherous crime toward innocent victims. I promise you, these ignorant, crazy, insane, deranged lunatics will think twice about pulling that trigger, or pull out that knife or cause death simply just by manslaughter. This sh*t doesn't makes any sense none whatsoever; innocent lives being taking for no reason simply because the next person beside you or near you have snapped and lost their damn mind. This is a damn shame and sad!
And I don't know who handles emails that goes through congress and/or to the president but I wish they would honestly take the time out to read their each and every mail/email very carefully, assess which seems revelant, requires their immediate attention or just plain damn significant, that comes from everyday ordinary people such as myself who has already written a letter to the President over a year ago, asking him can he have a talk with congress and get this type of law pass because this is so utterly ridiculous and I'm so damn tired of hearing about senseles and tragic killings like this, and the outcome is going to be that the suspect will get life without parole, in which he deserves to die just the same as the victim, not to mention the victim wasn't even expecting to die.
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By: paul on 12/03/2010 5:10PM
Where's the outrage from the anti-knife organizers?!?! If this poor kid didn't have such easy access to a knife he wouldn't be in this predicament! He's just a hapless victim of his knife-rich environment.
The knife manufacturers must pay for this!!
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By: westfall on 12/02/2010 1:03PM
Don't be stupid your whole life. Show some compassion. Prayers for both families.
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By: paul on 12/02/2010 5:48PM
Fair enough. This is a terrible story with no reasonable response other than sadness and pity for all involved. Not the time to take a stab at making a point. Oops...
I should have waited until after someone turned this into a race issue, or tried to blame it on a failure of 'The System' to provide something the parents should have but couldn't because of one excuse or another. I do commend the blogger for not steering us in that direction. It sounds like the guy just snapped. Domestic battery and weapons charges aside, it could have been anybody.
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By: DUSTY on 12/03/2010 3:30PM
Did you CUT your orange this morning with a knife?
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By: paul on 12/04/2010 7:17PM
Pay attention - everyone knows I eat tumors for breakfast, not oranges.
I usually shoot at oranges to get them open. Knives are dangerous.
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By: Jewel on 12/04/2010 11:22PM
Go away dude.
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By: nomoxcuses on 12/02/2010 3:14PM
You wrote this story as though it was another day in crime! This was a Domestic Violence situation that escalated into the deaths of an entire family! Because Mrs. Cochran-Hill was an only child, her parents not only lost her but thay have no more grandchildren. This young man had been assulting Jade (17) for over a yr. On this day, when he began assulting her, she screamed and her mother (Cochran-Hill) who used a cane, came to help her and was stabbed to death. Joi (11yrs)- who probably witnessed everything was screaming when he went after her, stabbing her to death, as well! We must teach our daughters Not to hit or tolerate being hit. Domestic Violence against our young teens is climbing! Many times it starts with "play fighting" this is a no-no. May God continue to bless the parents of Stacy and the rest of their family...
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By: paul on 12/03/2010 4:02PM
I don't know. Some days I just like to stir the pot.
Somebody always turns these things into a race issue. Don't ask me how. I didn't say it made any sense.
I like that - tumors for breakfast. You're funny. It's usually yogurt. I'll think of you and your tumors tomorrow morning.
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By: BJ on 12/03/2010 8:23PM
Paul, so far you are the only person that has mentioned race. So, am I to believe that you are race baiting looking for a racist argument? The suspect graduated from high school, had attended college, lives in a two parent home - has nothing to do with race. It has to do with mental illness, lack of funds, and anger issues. Domestic violence isn't a racial issue. It is so sad that your lack of compassion overwhelms your point of interest.
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By: shameshame on 12/09/2010 10:43AM
What in the f*ck would cause people, especially a young teenager, to snap in the head and go on a killing spree like this? WHY, WHY, WHY, WHY F*CKING WHY? Some way, some how, congress needs to pass a law and implement which will allow it to take the suspect's/person's life once they have committed the senseless, dumb a**, treacherous crime toward innocent victims. I promise you, these ignorant, crazy, insane, deranged lunatics will think twice about pulling that trigger, or pull out that knife or cause death simply just by manslaughter. This sh*t doesn't makes any sense none whatsoever; innocent lives being taking for no reason simply because the next person beside you or near you have snapped and lost their damn mind. This is a damn shame and sad!
And I don't know who handles emails that goes through congress and/or to the president but I wish they would honestly take the time out to read their each and every mail/email very carefully, assess which seems revelant, requires their immediate attention or just plain damn significant, that comes from everyday ordinary people such as myself who has already written a letter to the President over a year ago, asking him can he have a talk with congress and get this type of law pass because this is so utterly ridiculous and I'm so damn tired of hearing about senseles and tragic killings like this, and the outcome is going to be that the suspect will get life without parole, in which he deserves to die just the same as the victim, not to mention the victim wasn't even expecting to die.
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