CRIME
Family Questions Ruling in Death of LGBTQ Teen
Authorities say 16-year-old Mikayla Miller of Massachusetts died by suicide
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
LGBTQ advocates, family members,
and lawmakers in Massachusetts are
voicing frustration after the state’s
medical examiner’s offi ce declared the
death of a Black LGBTQ teenage girl a suicide.
Last month, a jogger discovered 16-year-old
Mikayla Miller’s body in the woods at 34 West
Main Street in Hopkinton, which is about 34
miles west of Boston. MetroWest Daily News
reports that a death certifi cate released by the
Hopkinton Town Clerk’s Offi ce describes the victim’s
death as “asphyxia by hanging.” From the
beginning, advocates and family members have
been skeptical of how authorities are handling
the case, and at a press conference on May 19,
they disputed the medical examiner’s decision
and doubled down on calls for a comprehensive
investigation.
“There’s no way that Mikayla could have
killed herself,” David Johns, the executive director
of the National Black Justice Coalition,
an LGBTQ civil rights organization, said in a
telephone press conference on May 19. “Mikayla
was found standing upright, with a belt tied
around her neck, which was tied to a tree that
was neither tall nor sturdy enough to withstand
her body weight.”
Johns added, “It is also worth noting that
Mikayla was wearing a tracksuit that did not
require or need a belt. We know from Calvina
Strothers that the belt does not belong to Mikayla
or her mother.”
In the events leading up to her death, Miller
was allegedly embroiled in a physical altercation
with fi ve other teenagers earlier in the evening
on April 17, which was one day before her
body was found. Less than an hour after the
alleged altercation, police paid a visit to Miller’s
home following a call from her mother, Calvina
Strothers, who had issued a complaint alleging
that her daughter was “jumped” earlier
in the day. Miller said she was punched in the
face and had a bloody lip. The DA’s offi ce, citing
phone GPS records, insists that the location
of the group of teenagers involved in the altercation
was different from the location where
Miller was found. The teenagers have not been
charged in connection to the incident.
It remains unclear whether Miller’s death is
in any way connected to the alleged altercation.
Advocates want the teenagers to be reprimanded
for the altercation.
“There are many questions and inconsistencies,”
Tito Jackson, a former councilmember
in Boston, said at the press conference. “The
fact that is indisputable is that Mikayla was assaulted
by fi ve other young people.”
Mikayla Miller, a Black queer teenager, was found dead in a wooded area near her home in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
A vigil was held for Miller on May 6.
Authorities have been facing heat since the
start of the investigation. During the phone call,
advocates said that police have prioritized disclosing
information to the media before speaking
with the family.
This month, Strothers revealed that the police
department was hesitant to investigate her
daughter’s death, indicating that it was a suicide
before examining the case. When Strothers
pressed law enforcement about this issue,
authorities allegedly warned her not to bring
the story to the media because it would expose
her late daughter’s sexual orientation.
GO FUND ME
REUTERS/BRIAN SNYDER
Despite the latest fi ndings, the Middlesex
District Attorney’s Offi ce said they are still investigating
the incident.
“Our investigation into the events surrounding
Mikayla’s death remains active and ongoing,”
the offi ce said in a statement to the Associated
Press. “We will continue to explore
every investigative angle necessary as we do
that work and intend to issue a complete and
thorough report at the conclusion of the investigation.”
Family and advocates held a vigil for Miller
on May 6.
May 20 - June 2,22 2021 | GayCityNews.com
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