Man charged in death of runaway teen found in box

The name "Evelyn" written in marker on the victim's leg and DNA from a piece of denim that bound the corpse led to charges in the death of a teenage runaway whose body was found in 2007 stuffed into a cardboard box, police said.

William McIntosh, 46, of Chicago, was charged with murder in the death of 17-year-old Marlaina "Niki" Reed, whose body was discovered in a Chicago alley by a scavenger looking through trash. McIntosh was arrested without incident Friday near his home, police said.

It was not clear whether McIntosh has an attorney. In a brief court appearance Saturday, he was ordered held without bail.

Reed's body had gone unidentified for a year. Then a photo of facial reconstruction ran in a publication for Illinois dentists, and a receptionist at a dentist's office recognized the face. An autopsy had shown substantial dental work.

Reed, a Danville native and had lived in Chicago for about two years, was badly beaten and strangled. Someone had written "Evelyn" — McIntosh's mother's name — on the woman's left leg. Detectives told the Chicago Sun-Times that lab tests found McIntosh's DNA on a piece of denim that bound the victim's legs.

Reed, a ward of the state, was a habitual runaway who had lived in group homes.

"She really didn't have anyone looking out for her. Her life was tragic, and she died tragically," Detective Michael Landando told the newspaper. "The detectives were the only ones really concerned about finding out who killed her. I consider myself jaded in a lot of ways, but this one