Two teenage girls in Long Island, New York were found dead less than a day apart from each other after they were hanging out together on Tuesday.
On Tuesday night, just one day before she would have turned 16, Nisa Mickens was found beaten to death after a passing motorist spotted her body and called police.
Her best friend, 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas, was found 20 hours later after having been reported missing following the discovery of Mickens’ body. The cause of her death is not yet clear.
According to Suffolk County Police Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer, police believe that the two killings are related, but they have not yet released a motive for the deaths of the two teenage girls.
“This brutal attack of a teenager will not stand in Suffolk County,” Police Commissioner Tim Sini said. “We’re going to catch this depraved perpetrator.”
On Wednesday night, the mothers of both girls held each other as they shared in their grief for the loss of their children.
“We’re all out here for our babies,” said Elizabeth Alvarado, Mickens’ mother. “It has to stop. The killings are going to stop. What’s it going to take?”
On Wednesday, which would have been Mickens’ 16th birthday, her parents left her birthday gifts, as well as balloons, where her body was found.