KENTWOOD, Mich. -- Family and friends are grieving the loss of a recent East Kentwood graduate.
McKenna Hilton, 18, was found dead in Grand Rapids Township Thursday. Her death has been ruled a homicide and a 16-year-old is in custody. Investigators haven't released his name, but they tell FOX 17 that the two knew each other.
Hilton's body was found along a wooded trail, but investigators say they don't believe that she died there.
Friends say that their hearts are broken and that the whole situation doesn't make sense. Many questions remain and friends are looking for answers.
"[I'm in] straight shock," Kevin Moody said. "I couldn’t even say anything, I was sitting there mouth wide open very in shock." Moody says he still remembers the day Hilton moved in next door to his house.
Friends describe Hilton as being talented and someone who loved to act and sing. She participated in musicals at East Kentwood High School.
Hilton worked at Craig's Cruisers and friends say she had goals of one day becoming a nurse.
"It still hasn’t hit me that much yet, I don’t know what's going on," Tyrese Baker said, another one of Hilton's friends. "When you have such a good person like that in your life and for them to be taken away from you, it’s crazy. McKenna is a good person and she needs justice."
An autopsy was scheduled for Friday to determine the exact cause of Hilton's death. The teen suspect is expected to be arraigned Saturday.
Anyone with further information on this case should call the Kent County Sheriff or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Hilton family, click here if you would like to help.
