Kailey Vijil was only 12 years old when she was allegedly lured from her home by a 15-year-old boy in the middle of the night.
The boy allegedly came to Kailey’s family home in Utah just after midnight on Friday morning and persuaded her to come outside with him.
When Kailey asked her relatives if she could play with the teenager, one of them reportedly said yes.
But after about 90 minutes, Kailey’s mum could not find her little girl. She started to desperately search the neighbourhood for her daughter, and eventually alerted police officers at a nearby convenience store to her daughter’s disappearance.
Police followed the signal on the young girl’s mobile phone — and at 3am on Friday, authorities found Kailey’s battered body alone in the middle of an overgrown horse pasture, just four blocks from the girls’ home in Salt Lake City.
Kailey’s body was found with “evidence of trauma”, though police have attested that there was no markings of being shot or stabbed. There were also signs of a struggle at the scene, police said.
“I believe a good-natured child was fooled and unfortunately made a mistake she paid the ultimate price for,” West Valley Police Chief Lee Russo told The Deseret News. “This young girl thought she was helping somebody.”
It appeared that there was no prior relationship between Vijil and the 15-year-old boy, Russo added.
At 1:30pm on Friday, police arrested a local 15-year-old boy who had been recently released from either juvenile detention or a drug treatment facility, according to conflicting local reports. He cannot be identified for legal reasons, as he is a minor.
Police believe Kailey was not the first girl the teenager had targeted that same night. Earlier on Thursday evening, the boy had allegedly asked another neighbourhood girl to come and look at his “fort” in an abandoned house, and yet another girl to help him find a pregnant cat.
Neighbour Stephanie Sala said the same teenager had once asked her five-year-old niece if she wanted to play.
“I had said no because he hadn’t asked for my five-year-old son, my 10-year-old nephew or my 12-year-old son to come and play. He just asked us for the 5-year-old little girl to come and play,” Ms Sala told the Deseret News.
Eight-year-old Mila Montana was also on the list of young girls the teenager had allegedly attempted to prey on: He reportedly tried to lure Mila from her home, but she quickly declined.
“It just scared me, and when I’m scared I’m supposed to go tell my mum. I was in shock because I know about girls being kidnapped and I just want to stay with my family and be happy,” the young girl said.
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A neighbour told 2News of the teenage suspect: “This is the house of a kid that’s had kind of some history in the neighborhood and been in some mischief, to put it politely.”
Neighbour Megan Powell told ABC 4 Utah: “He’s kind of a troublemaker around the neighborhood.”
Police have emphasised that this story must not become a debate about whether Kailey’s parents or relatives should have let her leave her house on the fateful night.
“This isn’t a debate about parenting,” Russo said, “What we are investigating is the death of a 12-year-old girl.”
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A candlelit vigil for Kailey took place yesterday at a local park. Community members lit candles and wore purple, which was the little girl’s favorite colour.
The teen suspect has been booked into the Salt Lake County Juvenile Detention Center for investigation of murder, according to The Deseret News. A judge will now determine whether he will face the charge as a juvenile or as an adult, NYDailyNews reports.
Our thoughts are with Kailey’s family and friends today.
For more news:
SA Police release more images of evidence in bid to identify ‘murdered’ child’s remains.
He reportedly sent her 1400 text messages in a month. And then she died.
Do you have a news story to share? Email news@mamamia.com.au
Top Comments
There are so many ways this could have been prevented. Why on earth was she out of bed at that hour of the night? Why on earth would it not have raised any alarm that a teenager was door knocking AFTER MIDNIGHT?!? How would you only twig there was a problem at 1:30AM?!
Words fail me totally on this one. Yes, her parents may be grieving. But that grief must be ten times worse to know their own negligence caused it.
Let's get something straight. We have to accept that we live in a world where good and bad exist, we have to teach our kids right from wrong but we also have a duty to protect them. Letting a child out of the house at midnight beggars belief. That poor little girl should not have been killed, her killer should have known right from wrong, but the fact that she was let out of the house at midnight is also an issue here!
Why is it always the victim's parents who are questioned and blamed? Gosh, people are so judgmental and awful to others, especially based on such little information.
In many neighborhoods around the world, it is not unusual for kids to play outside together late at night during the summer. Rarely does it result in murder! This is international news for precisely that reason.
It could've have happened at any time, the boy was apparently determined and had asked other girl neighbours to go with him earlier. Would you attack her parents if it had happened at 12pm? 5pm? Any time?
You don't know the circumstances, so how about responding with empathy for the poor girl's traumatised family, friends, the boy's family, and close-knit community? It beggars belief that empathy for others goes out the window and is replaced with cruel judgement...
I absolutely have empathy ellaa, having empathy and looking at a situation for what it is are completely different! It was midnight, she was 12, she did not know him. If it is normal for this to happen in their community why did her mother start searching for her an hour later? If it was midday and she had been missing an hour nobody would react. As a world community we need to start discussing prevention, like i said good and bad exist in our world, we need to protect the vulnerable the best we can!