Man Charged with Killin 15 Year Old Girl in Calumet City

Calumet City had been aiming at someone else. Eric Brown, 20, of Calumet City, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm, according to police. Brown walked up to the kitchen window of a home in the 500 block of Ingraham Avenue in the south suburb and opened fire, killing Ashaya Miller and wounding her older cousin. Brown was arrested Monday and held for three days while Calumet City police and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force investigated the murder. Charges were announced Thursday night. Miller's family is holding a vigil at 6 p.m. Friday on the block where she was killed, according to police. "It hurts,'' said Ashaya's grandfather, James Miller, 62, of south suburban Riverdale, who said he called Ashaya by her nickname, "Shay Shay.'' Ashaya would come over to see her father, who lives in Riverdale with Miller, almost every weekend and sometimes even on her way home from school. She would often bring her homework and also enjoyed watching television and lounging on his couch, Miller said. "She was a good person. She was always over here to keep me company,'' Miller said. This weekend was no different, and he had seen her on Saturday, the day before the shooting. "She was in a good mood. She had gotten her nails done,'' Miller said. Ashaya was looking forward to seeing her friends and family at her aunt's home on Ingraham, where they had a party Saturday night, and she stayed overnight, her grandfather said. She had one brother, two sisters and many cousins, and other relatives with whom she was close. Miller had the day off from his bakery job and was at home when he was called to the hospital after learning Ashaya was shot. She had been in the kitchen as relatives were doing someone's hair. "We knew she got shot, but we didn't think she was going to die,'' Miller said. "It was awful." chicagobreaking@tribune.com Twitter: @chicagobreaking

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