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Hopkinton, Massachusetts – The controversial death of 16-year-old Mikayla Miller, whose body was found by a jogger last month, died by suicide, the state medical examiner says. The official cause of death was “asphyxia by hanging.”
According to WCVB, Mikayla was found hanging from a tree. NBC 10 reported a “thin black leather belt was affixed to a small branch and secured around Mikayla’s neck.”
Before her death, Mikayla was assaulted and police were called. Many people in the community have speculated that she was murdered or suggested there wasn’t a proper investigation underway.
The District Attorney previously released this timeline of the events based on the preliminary investigation:
- On April 17, 2021, there were allegations of a physical altercation that occurred between Mikayla and five other teenagers. As part of the investigation, cell phone data, which included a review of text messages and GPS data, was collected that indicated that Mikayla Miller and four other teenagers were at the recreation room of a residential building on Revolutionary Way in Hopkinton from 5:17 p.m. to 6:41 p.m. During this time, there was an alleged physical altercation involving Mikayla and two of those teenagers, one male and one female. Another female allegedly remained in the car at that time.
- On April 17, 2021, at approximately 7:20 p.m., Hopkinton Police was dispatched to the home of Mikayla Miller after her mother called to make a complaint about her daughter been “jumped.” At that time, Mikayla reported being punched in the face and had blood on her lip, consistent with this report. The investigation into this physical assault remains open and there are no charges at this time.
- On April 17, 2021, at 7:43 p.m., Hopkinton Police were dispatched to the residence of one of the females involved in that altercation and obtained statements from two of the females involved.
- On April 17, 2021, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Mikayla Miller allegedly is last seen by her mother.
- Forensic information gathered from the health app on Mikayla’s cell phone reportedly tracked movement from 9:00 – 10:00 p.m. During this time, the phone allegedly traveled a distance of 1,316 steps, roughly the same distance from her home to the location where her body was found.
- On April 18, 2021, at 7:45 a.m., a jogger in the area of 34 West Main Street in Hopkinton observed Mikayla Miller’s body located in the woods off a walking path and contacted police.
- When Mikayla was located her phone and belongings were still on her.
- In the weeks following Mikayla’s death, an extensive investigation has been pursued. The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office has confirmed the whereabouts of all five teenagers involved that interacted with Mikayla the night prior to her death and have confirmed their locations later in the evening. To reach this conclusion, investigators have interviewed witnesses and analyzed cell phone data on the phones of the teenagers involved.
- Based on witness statements and cell phone GPS, detectives were able to confirm that the 2 involved females had a confirmed location from 8:43 p.m. to 5:48 a.m.
- The two males involved left Hopkinton with a family member after the incident. The vehicle they were travelling in passed through the EZ Pass on the MassPike at Hopkington East Bound at 8:08 p.m. and exited the MassPike at 8:58 p.m. in Charlton. The two males were at Wendy’s in Sturbridge at 9:06 p.m. and that information is confirmed by video surveillance.
- The third female that remained in the car was confirmed to be at her residence by a witness.
The investigation is ongoing.
Read more HERE.
