Accused Gunman In Murder Of 7-Year-Old Serenity Broughton Denied Bail
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The man charged in the murder of 7-year-old Serenity Broughton and the attempted murder of her 6-year-old sister, Aubrey, was ordered held without bail on Thursday.
During a bond hearing for 24-year-old Aireon Luster, Cook County prosecutors revealed witness statements and cell phone records helped police make the case, a month after prosecutors declined to charge him.
Luster was originally taken into custody in September, but prosecutors said they could not charge him in the shooting due to a lack of evidence.
He is accused of being one of two gunmen who on Aug. 15 shot and killed Serenity, and wounded her sister, Aubrey.
Prosecutors said the shooters were targeting the girls' uncle, over a gang dispute.
Luster was on parole at the time of the shooting. It was the second time he'd been let go from prison, after pleading guilty to armed robbery in 2016 and 2019.
Serenity and Aubrey were shot on Sunday, August 15, in the 6200 block of West Grand Avenue in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood.
Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said the girls and their parents were visiting a relative at the time, and their mother and father were getting them into the back seat of their car, when three people in another vehicle pulled into a nearby alley, and two of them got out, and started shooting in the direction of the family's car.
The shooters then got back in their vehicle and fled the scene.
Police said they believe the shooters were targeting a relative who lived at the home.
Serenity was shot in the chest and torso, and was pronounced dead at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Aubrey was shot in the chest and right armpit, has a pierced lung and was being treated at Loyola. McDermott said the girls' mother was getting them into the back seat of the car when the shots rang out.
The girls' paternal grandmother, Regina Broughton, told reporters that her son – the girl's father – was on the driver's side of the car while their mother had just finished buckling Aubrey in. At that point, the shots rang out, and Serenity was lifeless, Broughton said days after the shooting.
"The monster that did this to my granddaughter – I want them caught," she said. "It could have been my whole family, because they were all in the car together."
Meantime, Deenihan said police are asking for public's help finding a second gunman and the getaway driver involved in the shooting. Detectives have yet to identify those two suspects.
"We believe that the public knows these two individuals, who are probably associated with Luster, and are part of this," Deenihan said. "We're hopefully certain that these guys have talked to somebody, have bragged about it, and somebody knows."
Acknowledging that potential witnesses could be afraid to come forward, Deenihan said police can provide tips anonymously online at CPDTip.com
