A Connecticut girl who had been a victim of bullying at school was found dead the day after a fight at school.
Zaniya Wright, 13, was reported missing Thursday morning after she “walked away” from a fight at her school. She was reportedly visiting a male friend.
Police found her body in the basement of the apartment building with the friend resides. She was strangled to death.
Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner Dr. James Gill ruled Wright’s death a homicide caused by compression to her neck.
“Zaniya was a very strong girl,” family friend Alena Baker described the victim adding that she was a seventh-grader at Illing Middle School.
The tragic death was the conclusion to a life of suffering that Zaniya endured at school, her family said. She was quiet, kind, and close to her mom.
“She was just into beauty and fashion and stuff like that,” Baker added.
The circumstances surrounding the teen’s death remain a mystery, according to Lt. Ryan Shea of the Manchester Police Department.
“Right now, the investigation is ongoing in cooperation with the Connecticut State Police Major Crimes Unit, Manchester Police Detective Unit, and the state’s attorney’s office,” Shea said.
