Local News

Police Search Home of 9-Year-Old Murder Victim

Mya Lyons' Father Has Retained An Attorney

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Chicago police investigating the murder of nine-year-old Mya Lyons returned to her father's home Sunday. They executed a pre-dawn search warrant.

Now Richard Lyons has hired an attorney, as CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports.

Lyons and his newly hired attorney made brief statements outside of the Lyons' home Sunday to the media, but they took no questions.

Both stressed Richard Lyons' need for time to grieve for his daughter and his attorney said Lyons is not responsible for his daughter's death.

"As I stand here, there's been no indication from police that Richard Lyons is a suspect," Chicago area lawyer Alan Blumenthal said. "If there is indeed suspicion directed at Richard, I can assure you and he can assure you that he is in no way responsible for Mya's death and indeed regrets that he is even compelled to make such an assertion."

Alan Blumenthal confirms he was retained by Richard Lyons Saturday.

It's the latest development in the 13-day-old murder case. 

Chicago police are not commenting on any of the cases developments and they will not say if anyone is being considered as a person of interest right now.

Lyons said he had no choice now to retain counsel.

"Because of the apparent direction the investigation has taken, and because two detectives in the last two days have said things to me that are accusatory and threatening, I have hired attorneys and will be following their advice," Lyons said.

"As I stand here, there has been no indication made to me by the police that Richard is a suspect," Blumenthal said. "Richard Lyons is a respected member of the community, he's long and well-employed, he is and has been a good, protecting, and loving father to his children."

Officers arrived at the home around 3 a.m. with a search warrant in hand. It's unclear what they were looking for, but officers were inside the house.

The search happened just 24 hours after police took the family van as evidence. The 9-year-old girl was found dead in an alley by her father near his South Side home. Lyons initially said he noticed his daughter was missing from her bedroom around 11 p.m. on July 14. A short time later, he says he found Mya in the alley near his home. She'd been stabbed and sources tell CBS 2, sexually assaulted. The seized van was likely the one used to take Mya to the hospital following the stabbing, a relative said.

"A vehicle was taken into police custody as part of the ongoing investigation," police spokeswoman Monique Bond said in an email. "That is all we are confirming." 

Police did want Richard Lyons to come in for questioning Saturday afternoon. CBS 2 was told by a family friend that meeting was canceled. Instead, Lyons reportedly spent the afternoon getting some legal advice.

Richard Lyons tried to dodge reporters Saturday evening, as he and his family left their home in the 8400 block of South Gilbert.

Sunday he told the media, "I respect the police generally, and pray that they do the job that they are capable of doing and capture the person who killed my baby," Lyons said.

Self-proclaimed family spokesperson and community activist Ziff Sistruck says police have it all wrong.

"You bobbled the case. You blew it and now you're gonna point your finger at this man, it's wrong," he said. 

Sistruck told calls the tactics of one officer "insulting" to Richard Lyons.

"He indicated to the father that 'we have your van and next we're going to get you,'" Sistruck said. "I think that's crossing the line and out of step with the investigation and unethical."

Meanwhile, concerned neighbors just want Mya's killer to be found.

"That was her whole life in front of her – it's killing me," said neighbor Thomas Burton.

Chicago Supt. Jody Weis said the investigation was a pending one and he doesn't like to comment on it.

"Sometimes it gets false hopes up, so I'll just leave it as a pending investigation, but we'll be the first to tell you when we get a good break in that." 

Richard Lyons said following the incident that he picked Mya up while she was still breathing and put her in his van. He then drove to Jackson Park Hospital as his uncle, a nurse, tended to her in the back.

"I put her in that van," Lyons said. "I do not remember how she looked. I do remember grabbing her and hearing her and putting her in and just driving off."

Mya's great-aunt Karen Brown said Saturday the family has "so many unanswered questions" about Mya's death.

"I like Richard and I don't think Richard personally did anything to Mya," Brown said Saturday after learning about the van being towed. "Evidently [police] suspect that something doesn't add up."

Brown also said family members are wondering why Richard Lyons took Mya to the hospital in the van instead of calling 911, stating that Jackson Park Hospital is not "just around the corner." 

Earlier in the case, a cleanup crew found a knife near the alley where Mya Lyons' father found her body. Police said on Sunday the knife would be processed. CBS 2 interviewed Lyons' father who has been vocal in calling for the girl's killer to come forward and for parents to cherish each moment with their families.

"Take a few minutes each night, call those few minutes 'Mya's minutes,'" said Richard Lyons, Mya's father. "And look at your baby… because I used to so enjoy sitting back, just looking at my baby."

At that time, Lyons said he felt comfort in knowing the community would not stop searching until they found the person responsible for the murder.

"I believe that this is a case that will not linger forever," Lyons said. "There will be justice." 

Police have said they believed Mya Lyons had been playing at a friend's house before she died. Police have questioned someone they called a person of interest, but we're told that person has been released.

Lyons and several family members have reportedly already provided DNA samples and Lyons has also taken a lie detector test.

CBS 2's Susan Carlson, Pamela Jones and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.

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