The family of 16-year-old Mikayla Miller is seeking answers after her body was discovered hanging from a tree in the woods of a Boston suburb on April 18. According to reports, Mikayla’s family believes race and her sexual orientation played a part in her killing.
“This is just an unimaginable loss,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan told WBZ-TV. Ryan’s office, along with local police, are currently investigating Mikayla’s death.
NBC 10 Boston reported that the day before Mikayla’s body was discovered, she had gotten bullied by a group of teens inside the apartment complex in Hopkinton, Massachusetts where she lived. Investigators reportedly reviewed GPS data that showed the teens involved in the fight’s locations during the time Mikayla was murdered.
In a statement released on social media, Mikayla’s mother alleged “a group of kids” “ambushed” and “murdered” her daughter and claimed authorities weren’t investigating her murder accordingly. Mikayla’s mother also said her daughter was “lynched” because of her race or sexual orientation, or both.
Law enforcement officials have denied the claims that the investigation into the teen’s death isn’t currently ongoing. They have not released a motive behind her death, or said whether Mikayla’s race or sexual orientation were a factor. A report from the medical examiner has yet to be released to investigators or Mikayla’s family.
Violence In Boston, a community advocacy organization, is holding a vigil in Mikayla’s memory on Thursday (May 6). Mikayla was a student-athlete at Hopkinton High School.
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