A 16-year-old girl’s body was discovered in an apartment complex dumpster on December 26, the day after Christmas. Denver police are now investigating the death of Tayanna Manuel as a homicide in a Gateway-Green Valley Ranch neighborhood.
UPDATE: This incident is now being investigated as a homicide. Victim is a juvenile female. #Denver Office of the Medical Examiner will provide victim ID & cause of death. Anyone with info is asked to call @CrimeStoppersCO at 720-913-7867.
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) December 26, 2022
According to PEOPLE, Manuel is suspected of having been fatally shot three days before the discovery of her body. A Tweet made by the Denver police revealed that another male victim was injured in the shooting on the 4600 block of N. Kittredge and that his injuries are unknown at this time. Manuel’s family disclosed that the unidentified male is Manuel’s boyfriend. The two were together when they were reportedly shot.
Her family told the outlet, “He was found, but she wasn’t. So we were under the impression she was missing.”
Her mother called out the police for not acting quickly enough when the family became concerned.
“My daughter was 16, and that should have been a red flag – drop everything…and help this woman find her child.”
However, now that Manuel’s body has been found, all her mother wants is justice.
“We’ve just been trying to get through this as much as we could and as much as we can just to find out answers. I just want these people that did this to my daughter to be caught. The weight is just so unbearable – it is so unbearable.”
Detectives from the Missing & Exploited Persons Team and the Firearm Assault Shoot Team are both working on the investigation, according to the Denver Police Department. A statement released said, “Detectives continue to work to gather the information that can lead us to the individual(s) responsible for her murder as well as the shooting that occurred on Kittredge.” I
In addition to the two task forces, a non-profit that specializes in helping families find missing Black girls – The Dock Ellis Foundation – became involved as well.
Without any arrest being publicized yet, another Tweet put out by Denver police described a vehicle of interest as a “2012 gray Honda CR-V with the Colorado license plate “CNE-I478” on the back and a pink and black Auto Nation dealer plate on the front,” They requested any information about the vehicle to be directed to Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.
#Denver, do you recognize this vehicle? If so, call @CrimeStoppersCO at 720-913-7867 — you can remain anonymous and earn a cash reward! pic.twitter.com/P9a1UQi0af
— Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) December 27, 2022
Manuel’s family has started a GoFundMe to pay for her funeral expenses. “We want to put our sweet baby to rest.”
The description reads. It has since raised upwards of $8,000 of its 10K goal.
