‘She was worried someone was going to hurt her’: Missing girl found strangled to death, naked

Authorities located the body of a 15-year-old girl on Wednesday, murdered and naked in a wooded area in Maryland.

ABC reports that Maleigha Solonka, 15, was reported missing earlier this week by her family after she disappeared from the Windsor Valley area in Edgewood. The case is under investigation and detectives aren’t releasing a lot of information yet, but they did report that the teen died from asphyxiation. Authorities found her in a wooded area in Havre de Grace, around 18 miles from her last known location.

Maleigha’s grandmother, Donna Elliott, told WBAL that the girl was found in a dumpster, naked.

“She was found in a dumpster, trash can with a pink shirt that was ripped, and naked.”

Elliott, extremely distraught, said that Maleigha told her just two weeks prior that she felt like someone was going to hurt her. Elliott didn’t say whether Maleigha gave the name of anyone she thought wanted to harm her.

“A couple of weeks ago, she came to stay at my house because she feared that someone was going to hurt her. She will be greatly missed by so many people. It’s almost unbelievable to believe that I’m not going to see my child again.”

The victim’s family indicated that she was a sweet, fun-loving girl, despite a troubled family life. Her aunt and uncle, Darlene Champ-Dupree and Vance Dupree were he legal guardians.

“She has had a hard life, and I wanted to amend her, to make her feel better.,” said Champ-Dupree. It’s very difficult to believe anything I’m hearing. She didn’t deserve it.”

Maleigha’s family also indicated she was a victim of domestic abuse. They set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for her funeral and burial expenses.

So far, authorities haven’t specified whether they have any suspects associated with Maleigha Solonka’s death. Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.

[Feature Photo: Handout]