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Utah Girl, 12, Found Dead, 15-Year-Old Boy Charged With Murder

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 02:34 PST, Jul 19, 2015

A Utah girl, 12, was found dead on Friday, and now, a 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder in connection to her death.

According to the New York Daily News, the police say the teenage boy lured 12-year-old Kailey Vijil out of her home in West Valley City, a Salt Lake City suburb, at around midnight on Friday.

The authorities were alerted to the missing child after her mother flagged down two police officers at a 7-Eleven at approximately 1:30 a.m. She had been out searching for her daughter after she noticed she wasn’t in her room. Vigil’s mother said she had never run away before, so it was very unlike her to simply disappear.

The police were able to locate Kailey’s whereabouts by “pinging” her cellphone. They canvassed an area only six blocks from Vigil’s home, and found her body in a grassy field. While she showed no signs of being stabbed or shot, there was “evidence of trauma,” and it appeared as though she was killed at the location she was found, as there was a “depression” indicating a violent murder among the shrubs, trees, and grass.

The boy, who was originally considered a person of interest in the case and has not been identified because of his age, was questioned following the discovery of Kailey’s body, and is now being charged with her murder.

“I believe a good natured child was fooled and unfortunately, made a mistake that she paid the ultimate price for,” West Valley City Police Chief Lee Russo told reporters on Friday, July 17.

Officers served a search warrant at the boy’s home, and he was later taken to the Salt Lake County Juvenile Detention Center, where he is being charged with one count of criminal homicide, according to Fox 13 Salt Lake City.

Apparently, the teenage boy was known in the community for getting into trouble. Earlier on Thursday night, he had approached another preteen girl, asking her to follow him to see his fort.

“He asked me: ‘I’ve been waiting for you to see my fort setting it up and I want you to go see my fort in the abandoned house,’ ” Mia Montano said. “I said ‘No, I’ve got to go eat my lunch.’ ”

Michelle Montano, Mia’s mother, alerted the police to her daughter’s encounter with the boy after learning about Kailey’s murder.

“That’s too close to home. That’s so scary,” she said.

According to Utah law, the 15-year-old can be charged as an adult, but a number of factors have to be determined first. If he remains in the juvenile system, he can only be detained until he is 21. If he is tried as an adult, he could face life in prison.

[Photo via Shutterstock]

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