(KABC) People gather at a makeshift memorial for 15-year-old Samantha Bustos in Compton, Calif., March 25, 2019.(LOS ANGELES) — A 15-year-old girl was found mysteriously dead in Los Angeles early Monday morning — and a motive and suspect in the case remain unknown.
The body of Samantha Bustos was found in Compton at about 1:30 a.m. local time, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.
Bustos suffered a “traumatic injury to her upper torso,” the sheriff’s office said.
The coroner’s office ruled it a homicide but the sheriff’s office did not release the teen’s cause of death.
The teen’s grieving family and friends gathered Monday where her body was found.
Family & friends of Samantha Bustos, 15, Compton gather where her body was found early Mon. AM in industrial area of Compton. Exact cause of death not released but investigators say she suffered upper body trauma. @abc 11pm #abc7eyewitness pic.twitter.com/0h6E0kDPxy
— Eileen Frere (@abc7eileen) March 26, 2019
Victor Lopez, a cousin of the teenager, told ABC Los Angeles station KABC-TV that Bustos was last seen Friday when she and her best friend went to a party — and that Bustos was last seen with a few unknown males.
On Saturday, Bustos’ friend asked Lopez if the 15-year-old came home, Lopez told KABC-TV.
“We couldn’t find her and we started looking for her Saturday morning,” Lopez said.
Bustos’ family reported her missing at the Compton sheriff’s station on Sunday, according to authorities.
“The motive and potential suspect information is unknown at this time,” the sheriff’s office said in a Monday night statement.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
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