NEW YORK – Devastated relatives gathered outside the house where a 14-year-old girl was found dead, wailing and screaming as they tried to make sense of the apparent attack on the high school freshman.
Sabrina Matthews' body was discovered by her father Sunday afternoon, according to neighbor Vincent Oakley, who said the distraught man ran to Oakley's house after calling police.
"He was crying and he was totally out of it," Oakley said, adding that the father said it appeared "'someone had gone in and assaulted her."'
Police said the medical examiner's office was trying to determine how the girl died. They haven't identified any suspects.
Neighbors said Sabrina was a sweet, quiet girl who moved with her family from Brooklyn to the pick stucco house in the Cambria Heights section of Queens a few years ago.
Fifteen-year-old neighbor Cheyenne Champagne says Sabrina was a "normal teenager" who hung out with her, ate junk food, talked about boys and never went looking for trouble.
"She was pretty. We'd walk around and people would talk to her and she'd keep walking, as she was supposed to do. We'd always joke around. She was never sad about stuff," the girl said.
Police said they had records of three domestic incident reports at Sabrina's home but there was no history of child welfare agency involvement there.
Sabrina's mother was devastated and "hysterical," said Kristin Grant, a cousin of the victim, adding: "She's very quiet, just a nice teenager. I don't know who would do this."