LAUDERDALE LAKES, Fla. – A 14-year-old girl is facing a murder charge in Broward County after deputies said she killed her grandmother, authorities announced Tuesday.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrested the teen girl on Friday after an investigation into the death of her 79-year-old grandmother, Yevheniia Koval.
First responders met with the victim’s son after receiving a call about an unresponsive woman at a home along the 4100 block of Northwest 41st Street in Lauderdale Lakes on Thursday.
He said that he left Koval with his 14-year-old daughter at the residence, and when he returned home, he found his mother unresponsive and with bruises on her body, deputies said.
Local 10 News obtained cellphone video capturing the crime scene where detectives responded to a condominium complex and said they discovered Koval unresponsive.
Following an autopsy, authorities confirmed Koval’s death was declared as a homicide.
Though unwilling to appear on camera, the woman’s son shared that Koval was a compassionate individual always ready to assist others.
A woman told Local 10 News that the teen was good friends with her granddaughter and saw no signs of trouble leading up to the incident.
“She’s a very good girl, as far as I know,” the woman said.
A family friend, who identified herself as Ms. Johnson, told Local 10 News that the incident was “something out of character” for the teen.
“She’s been going through a lot because she wants her mom, who is in the UK. She can’t get over here,” said Johnson.
Neighbors say the family from Ukraine was a familiar presence in the neighborhood.
The incident, which was reported just after midnight last Thursday, and the subsequent arrest of the teenager, have deeply unsettled residents.
“Now she’s gonna be incarcerated. Where is her future, what has she done and what was the reason to cause all of that to happen?” asked neighbor Desmond Silpatt.
After investigating, deputies said they identified the girl as the suspect in the woman’s murder.
The teen, whose name hasn’t been publicly released, is facing one count of second-degree murder.