Darius Ricks
In Hopkinton, Massachusetts, a family and supporters seek answers after a 16-year-old black teenage girl, Mikayla Miller, was found dead in April.
According to a released statement from the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, Mikayla Miller’s body was found by a jogger in the woods off a walking path during the early morning of April 18.
In the weeks since the teen’s death, rumors and outrage began to rise as Miller’s family and others on social media questioned the events surrounding this case. Accusations of a lynching, a racially motivated assault, and a police cover-up have spread like wildfire. Calvina Strothers, Miller’s mother, has raised questions about whether the death was a suicide.
Mikayla Miller was last seen on April 17. According to Marion Ryan of the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office, she had been in an altercation with a group of two teen boys and two teen girls. Miller may have been an ex to one of the girls.
According to a Facebook post by Miller’s mother, she wrote that her daughter had previously been in an altercation with a group of 5 teenagers the previous day.
In the timeline of events Ryan provided, Miller was in a common area of her apartment complex between 5:17 p.m. and 6:41 p.m. on Saturday, April 17. She was initially accompanied by two friends, who left before the encounter between Miller and a mixed-race group consisting of two males and two females. Another teen, a female, remained in the car the group arrived in. In a recent interview with GBH, she said that she did not have enough evidence to press charges against the teenagers involved in the fight and clarified that they were White and Latino.
One of the males and one of the females were each involved in the physical altercation with Miller, Ryan said, and the teen later told police she had been shoved and punched in the face. Officers found Miller with a bloody lip.
After the fight, the teens remained in the common area for roughly another 20 minutes, Ryan said, and Miller’s mom called the police at around 7:20 p.m. At around 9:30 p.m., Strothers went to bed, believing Miller was still in the home.
The mother and activist groups are questioning whether Miller may have been lured outside “by one of them.”
According to an account from the county prosecutor, a preliminary investigation found that all five of the teens involved were elsewhere later in the evening. Investigators used cell phone data and witness accounts to confirm the teens’ whereabouts, the prosecutor said.
Authorities say information gathered from a health app on Miller’s phone tracked movement from 9 to 10 p.m. It showed that she traveled about 1,300 steps, which matches the distance between her home and the area she was found.
Her body was found by a jogger the following morning.
justice for #MikaylaMiller
this sweet child was jumped by 5 white people and hours later found dead “tied to a tree” but authorities initially tried to claim her death was not suspicious
this happened TWO WEEKS AGO here in Hopkinton, MA but the news has been silent about her pic.twitter.com/2O8Mg5oPY1
— Laura Fitton (she/her) (@Pistachio) May 3, 2021
Strothers, Miller’s mother, claimed the police immediately dismissed her daughter’s death as a suicide and have been “hostile” and “uncooperative” since then. She has claimed that an officer suggested she not go to the media because her daughter’s sexuality would be revealed and said that police have declined to give her incident reports from the weekend her daughter died.
“My concern is, did they really thoroughly look at the crime scene?” Strothers said. “Or did they just dismiss it because she’s a Black girl on a tree in Hopkinton?”
Marion Ryan from the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office has denied all false accusations that her office was neglecting or trying to cover up any details about the case.
According to recent reports, emails and text messages have been found to show Mikayla Miller’s guidance counselor ignored warnings about teen’s mental health and drug abuse. Due to a recent breakup between Miller and another teen, Miller dealt with suicidal thoughts and depression. Evidence that has been shown to the police department and DA show text messages between Mikayla Miller and another teen talk about her drug use.
Immage contains Graphic Language
Despite what information has been provided, Miller’s family and activist groups remain unsatisfied with what answers have been given and demand a more thorough investigation into the case.
Marion Ryan from the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office said the death is not considered suspicious but that the case remains an “open and active” investigation.
- 2 Men Charged With the Assassination of Malcolm X Will Be Exonerated 55 Years Later - November 17, 2021
- Biden Pivots From Eco-Friendly Stance and Ask For Probe of “Illegal Conduct” on Gas Prices - November 17, 2021
- Jenelle Evans Dropped From Her Clothing Line for Slamming Lebron James Over Rittenhouse Tweet - November 15, 2021
