15-Year Old Boy Charged in Murder of 12-Year Old Girl

Salt Lake City woke to the shocking news of a 12-year-old girl's murder by a 15-year-old boy in one of the suburban areas of Utah's capital city.

"The 15-year-old boy lured the girl - Kailey Vijil - out of her house at around midnight Friday last week by asking for help looking for his cat," CBS News reported. "The boy tried to entice another girl with a similar ruse at another home in suburban Salt Lake City about 20 minutes before he knocked on the door of Vijil's home."

The boy, who was not named because he was still a minor, has since been arrested in the afternoon of the same day. He had since confirmed he was with the girl earlier that day in the field where her body was found.

The teenager has since been charged with aggravated murder in the juvenile court. Bail has been set at $1 million, according to Deseret News.

"A medical examiner determined that Kailey Vijil was killed by 'ligature strangulation.' Her body was found 'with a shirt wrapped around her neck,'" the publication noted.

The boy reportedly had attempted to lure out other girls prior to the victim, but was unsuccessful. He nearly got an 11-year-old girl to accompany him but her parents intervened.

Reports also said that it was the victim's 14-year-old sister who was initially asked by the teenager near midnight to help him find the lost cat. When she refused, he turned to the deceased, who agreed and left with him.

"When the older sister told her mother that Kailey had left with the boy, the mother tried calling Kailey on her cellphone but she did not answer, according to the charges," the news source went on. "About 90 minutes later, the mother approached two West Valley police officers at a convenience store while looking for her daughter and she told them her daughter was missing."

Police officers located the girl by "pinging" her mobile phone. They managed to find her before 3 in the morning.

The suspect had a history of troublemaking, with misdemeanor juvenile records ranging from possession of drug paraphernalia to burglary. The oldest one listed happened just last fall.

Prosecutors have requested a judge to try the suspect as an adult due to the seriousness of the most recent charge. A judge had also said that there may be additional charges as there was a possibility that "sexual assault" may have been involved, although no charges of such nature has been lodged against the boy so far.

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