Ohio Senate passes bill named for Alianna DeFreeze

Alianna DeFreeze

Posted: Apr 11, 2018 / 01:32 PM EDT

Updated: Apr 11, 2018 / 04:31 PM EDT

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COLUMBUS, Ohio– The Ohio Senate passed a bill named after murdered 14-year-old Alianna DeFreeze on Wednesday.

The 14-year-old was last seen on Jan. 26, 2017 getting off an RTA bus at East 93rd Street and Kinsman Avenue in Cleveland. Her body was found three days later in an abandoned house.

DeFreeze’s mother reported her missing when she learned Alianna never made it to school.

Senate Bill 82, or “Alianna Alert,” would require schools to notify parents within two hours if the student fails to arrive in class and does not have an excused absence.

“Time is a very important factor in finding a missing person. Senate Bill 82 does not aim to blame school districts for what happened to Alianna or other missing children across the state,” Sen. Sandra Williams in a news release on Wednesday. “It is simply designed to make sure that across Ohio parents are made aware when their children are not in school and can take quick, necessary action to find them if they don’t know where they are.”

The bill was introduced in March 2017. It will now move on to the Ohio House of Representatives.

Christopher Whitaker was convicted of 10 counts, including aggravated murder, rape and kidnapping in Alianna’s case. He was sentenced to death.