East Point Police ID teen killed, dumped near vacant house
EAST POINT, Ga. - The remains of a 16-year-old girl, who was beaten to death and dumped next to a vacant house, have been identified, but police are still trying to find her killer.
East Point police found the teen’s beaten body nearly two months ago. They say the 16-year-old is not from metro Atlanta. Investigators are still piecing together exactly how she ended up dead miles away from home.
"The family was distraught when they learned that their child was deceased," Det. Lakeisha Watts explained.
Police credit a sketch with helping them finally put a name to a disturbing murder that shocked their city.
This GBI sketch shows a teen found dead beside an East Point home on the morning of Feb. 12, 2022. (Georgia Bureau of Investigation)
"A friend of the family reached out to them and said 'hey, I saw a sketch closely resembles your daughter, so you need to contact the police and just verify if this is her or not,'" Watts detailed.
Have police identified the teen found dead in East Point?
Investigators said the girl's family lives outside of metro Atlanta. On Friday, they drove down to meet with investigators and positively identified the young girl.
"It was great news to the department as well as the community, and it's just one step closer to not only bringing closure to the case but to the family as well," Det. Watts detailed.
When, where was the girl's body found?
Just after midnight on February 12, police found the teen's beaten body beside a vacant house on Ben Hill Road near Washington Road. Detectives told FOX 5 she was reported missing shortly before her body was found.
At the family's request, police aren't releasing the girl's name at this time.
"She wasn't abducted. We're still trying to piece this puzzle together, so we're just speaking with the family as well as all the leads that come into...like how did she go from here to here," the detective said.
(National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)
An autopsy determined the girl died from blunt force trauma.
Detectives are still searching for her killer and say one of the most challenging aspects of this case is that they don't know where the attack happened.
If you know anything that can help close this case, call police immediately.
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