A Chicago woman is pleading for the return of her son’s ashes after she says her car was stolen from in front of her grandmother’s house. In a TikTok video, the distraught mother explained that the vehicle contained the remains of her 15-year-old son, who had recently passed away.
The woman, who identified herself as Krystele, said in the video that the theft occurred sometime after midnight and before 6 a.m. on a Tuesday. She stated the location was Ridgeway and Huron on the city’s west side.
“I don’t give a f–k about my car. I want my baby back. I want my baby ashes back,” she said in the clip, her voice filled with emotion. “You stupid motherf–kers. I don’t care the reason. I don’t care. Bring my baby ashes back.”
The theft allegedly occurred from a family member’s home
The video shows the woman standing on a street, gesturing toward the area where she said her car was parked. The camera pans to show broken glass on the asphalt next to a different vehicle. She clarified that the white SUV in the shot was not hers, but that the glass came from her car’s broken window.
“You can see how they broke my window, probably skied it off because you see the skid marks, and there’s the window,” she said, pointing to the debris and marks on the road. She then showed the porch of her grandmother’s house, stating, “Y’all know where the f–k y’all took my car from. It was sitting right there.”
According to the video’s creator, the woman described the stolen vehicle as a charcoal gray Chrysler 300S with tinted windows and Texas license plates. She mentioned she had a new plate that she believed started with the letter “Y.” An inset image in the video appears to show a dark gray sedan at a car wash, which she indicated was her car.
The remains are of her son, Zahir Jones
According to the video’s creator, the woman became visibly emotional as she explained why the theft was so devastating. She said her 15-year-old son, Zahir Jones, had passed away a couple of weeks prior, and his ashes and obituaries were in the car.
“I just moved back. I ain’t had time to unpack all my sh–,” she explained. “And y’all took my car. I need my baby back. I want my baby back right now.”
She made a direct appeal for the return of the remains, saying they could be left on her grandmother’s porch. The video’s caption repeated this plea, stating, “Please return my son Zahir Jones ashes. Please don’t disrespect the dead, keep the f–king car just bring his remains back PLEASE.”
The clip concludes with her urging viewers to share the video. “Repost this video. This happened Tuesday sometime after midnight, before 6 a.m. Y’all, please help me,” she said. The plea for public help to find a missing person or item is a common tactic on social media, as seen when police struggled to find a missing woman because they used her filtered Instagram photos.
According to the video’s creator, the video, which uses the hashtags #chicago, #car, and #cartheft, quickly drew comments from viewers. One commenter offered a potential lead, writing, “There’s a wrecked charcoal grey 300 on Huron at kedzie.”
Another viewer shared a personal experience, stating, “My Kia was stolen after my daddy passed away…all his hats and clothes that smelled like him were in my trunk when my car was stolen…never got any of it back…I pray you have a different outcome bc that sh– broke me.”
Multiple commenters advised her to contact authorities. One wrote, “Contact the news!” while another suggested, “Call Chicago pd tell them what happened. They will be able to find it on the flock cameras in five minutes.” A different comment proposed an unconventional approach, suggesting, “I feel like this is when we go talk to the voodoo lady. According to the video’s creator, put a hex on the people who stole that car. Not because of the car, but because of your son.”
