Changes: Tempe Girl

Revision as of 07:40, 12 May 2022

"Tempe Girl" was the nickname given to a teenager who died of a cocaine overdose in Tempe, Arizona in 2002. Her body was dumped behind a strip mall shortly after her death.

She is currently undergoing testing by the DNA Doe Project.

Case

The decedent was discovered behind a strip mall in Tempe, Arizona on April 27, 2002.

A compact disc discovered close to her body had fingerprints on it, which belonged to a woman who lived in Phoenix, Arizona. Investigators went to interview the woman, who claimed she had no knowledge of the decedent, but her boyfriend had observed the girl hitchhiking near 32nd Street and Greenway Road in Phoenix, Arizona on April 26, 2002. He offered her a ride to her intended destination of Tempe, Arizona. She had also expressed interest in purchasing tickets for an upcoming music concert.

The decedent spoke in Spanish while she was in the vehicle and stated she was recently disowned for her drug use by her family and expelled from her household.

Apart from the driver, a second person, a drug dealer, was picked up in the vehicle. The decedent decided to spend her money on cocaine from the drug dealer instead of purchasing tickets to the upcoming concert like she had originally intended.

Along the way, she used cocaine and had a negative reaction to the drug. She began to have a seizure and the driver pulled her out of the car, leaving her behind a strip mall. The driver then informed the drug dealer to call police at a nearby gas station and left the scene. However, her body was not discovered until 5:40 am the next morning.

Due to the circumstances described by the driver of the vehicle, her death was not ruled a homicide or accident.

Characteristics

Brown eyes.
Straight, black, 12 to 12.5 inch long hair.
She had two noticeable scars: one on the back of her left hand in the shape of a "T" and the other was on top of her left shoulder.
Her nails were painted with faded purple nail polish.
She possibly spoke Spanish.

Clothing and accessories

A red halter top.
Watch L.A. brand blue jeans with a side zipper and eyelets on the waistband.
Blue underwear.
One Lower Eastside black slip-on dress shoe, size 6.5 and with a 3-inch wedge heel.
A purple elastic hair tie was on her right wrist.

Exclusions

Alissa Turney
Veronica Martinez
Maria Mauricio
Florinda Lopez
Yuliana Escudero
Leanne Hausberg

Gallery

Sources

Tempe Girl at the Doe Network^{POSTMORTEM WARNING}
Tempe Girl at NamUs ^{POSTMORTEM WARNING}
Tempe Girl at NCMEC
Tempe Girl at the Maricopa County Medical Examiner
Tempe Girl on Wikipedia
AZ Central
CNN

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{UID_Infobox|title1=Tempe Girl|image1=Tempe Girl.jpg|caption1=|discovered=April 27, 2002|span={{age|2002|4|27}}|sex={{F}}|location=Tempe, Arizona|age=15-19|race={{Hisp}}/{{Native}}|height=5' - 5'2|weight=120 - 125 pounds|condition={{rf}}|pmi=24 hours|cod={{Overdose}}}}
 '''"Tempe Girl"''' was the nickname given to a teenager who died of a cocaine overdose in Tempe, Arizona in 2002. Her body was dumped behind a strip mall shortly after her death.
+She is currently undergoing testing by the DNA Doe Project.
 ==Case==