Slain 15-year-old boy had lost his mother in CTA train accident years earlier. ‘It was very hard for him. He had dreams.’

Sincere Cole and his mother Felon Smith | Provided by family

Brandy Martin began taking care of her 15-year-old nephew three years ago after the boy’s mother was struck and killed by a CTA train.

The boy, Sincere Cole, persevered despite other tragedies in the family: losing his grandmother to COVID-19, losing a cousin to gun violence.