The parents of a slain Florida teen identified her alleged killer as her ex-boyfriend after her body was found near Cypress Lakes Preserve early Thursday.
Abbriella Elliott had just turned 16 two weeks before she was violently killed off Ridge Manor Boulevard in Ridge Manor.
She lived with her parents in a home near the preserve where a passerby found her body at around 9:35 a.m.
Her parents identified her alleged killer, who is in police custody, as her ex-boyfriend. The teens had broken up about six to eight months ago.
Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis said the girl left her home at around 1:30 a.m. to meet a person who “was likely” her killer.
Elliott was killed using “an edged weapon” in a very violent manner.
“We could tell very quickly that here was a lot of passion and a lot of violence involved,” the sheriff added.
The victim’s parents said she was “always smiling, singing and acting goofy.”
“She had so much life ahead of her,” her mom said.
