A missing Arizona girl was found slain, with her body parts stuffed in trash bags tossed along a highway, police said.
The remains found along U.S. Highway 60 in the mountains northeast of Globe on Valentine’s Day belonged to Emily Pike, a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe, Gila County authorities said.
The teen disappeared from Mesa, where she lived at a group home on January 27. An autopsy showed that she died from trauma to the face and head.
Police said the girl’s head, torso, and legs were in separate bags but her hands and arms were missing.
Pike’s grieving mother said she loved painting and hoped to go to college and pursue art studies.
“My daughter, she was a very happy and kind person. She loves painting. She loves art. She loved to draw,” Steff Dosela said.
“Why did it go that far? She was just an innocent…she was a baby. (It’s) pain that I hope no other mother would go through.”
