14-year-old girl found bludgeoned to death behind large pile of dirt in park, middle school classmate charged with murder: Cops

A Kansas 14-year-old lad is down bars aft a missing teenage girl was recovered bludgeoned to decease down a heap of dirt.

On Thursday, Barton County Attorney J. Colin Reynolds announced the as-yet-unnamed lad stands accused of murder successful the archetypal degree implicit the decease of 14-year-old Rubi Perez.

The miss was reported missing connected the nighttime of April 8, aft attending a people astatine Holy Family School successful Great Bend – a tiny municipality immoderate 100 miles northwest of Wichita. Her assemblage was recovered precocious the adjacent greeting successful Veterans Memorial Park, crossed the thoroughfare from the municipality cemetery. Both are adjacent to the Holy Family Catholic Parish Center.

"Great Bend Police Officers responded to the 4700 artifact of 17th Street Terrace successful Great Bend successful notation to a juvenile pistillate located down a ample ungraded pile," the constabulary section announced successful a press release. "The juvenile pistillate was determined to beryllium deceased."

The unfortunate was an eighth people pupil astatine Great Bend Middle School, which is located little than a mile eastbound of the parkland and Catholic complex. Rubi's alleged slayer was besides her classmate there.

The events person led to an outpouring of mourning, remembrance, and speculation among the mediate school's pupil body, according to a study by Wichita-based ABC affiliate KAKE.

"This morning, I thought it was okay, yesterday felt off," 1 of Rubi's friends told the TV station. "It conscionable seemed a small different. You know, thing told maine aft schoolhouse to spell archer her bye. I didn't perceive to it. I conscionable thought she'd beryllium good this morning. Then I get to school, everyone's sad. I'm like, 'Where's Rubi? Oh, possibly she was astatine breakfast.' Then I recovered retired she's missing."

Police were alerted conscionable aft 8:30 p.m. connected the nighttime successful question; Rubi's assemblage was recovered astir 9:10 a.m. the adjacent morning.

Investigators were hard to miss arsenic the girl's remains were uncovered amid the monolithic mound of dirt, which appears to beryllium the byproduct of immoderate operation project.

"I noticed disconnected successful the region determination was a large heap of ungraded implicit determination there was immoderate radical lasting connected apical of that dirt," a Great Bend nonmigratory told KAKE, portion gesturing adjacent the cemetery. "We were astir the railroad tracks successful the country and they had it blocked disconnected astatine this entranceway implicit present and blocks implicit determination with immoderate barricades and determination was really a batch of cops, possibly 10 oregon 15 oregon so."

News of the grim find rapidly dispersed astatine the mediate school.

"We get the teacher, she's connected her phone, and past she's like, 'They recovered her,'" the slain girl's person continued. "I astir ran retired of the schoolroom to spell to the different girls, you know? Well, she conscionable said, 'Wait, travel here.' And past she sat maine down and said they didn't find her alive."

Rubi's obituary remembers her fondly:

She was a standout pupil among her peers and teachers, ever spreading positivity to anyone she came across. She was an exceptional jock that excelled astatine track, volleyball, and basketball. Rubi loved to bash marque up and heighten her already stunning earthy beauty. Her bequest volition unrecorded connected successful her saccharine demeanor, smile, zest for life, and offering kindness always.

Law enforcement has yet to merchandise her authoritative origin of death, but successful the lack of ceremonial announcements, the victim's loved ones person filled successful immoderate of the blanks astir the crime.

The earlier-quoted person told KAKE she heard from a parent who knows Rubi's parent and that the miss died from blunt unit trauma to the caput caused by a cinder block.

In the aftermath of the killing, constabulary surveyed the transgression scene, conducted interviews, and executed respective hunt warrants. The alleged slayer was arrested aboriginal that aforesaid afternoon, constabulary said. He is presently being detained successful the Barton County Detention Center.

A detention proceeding for the suspect is slated for April 21.

No motive for the execution has been floated arsenic of this writing.