14-Year-Old Girl Found Murdered In Maine Family Home - Reportedly By Another Teenager She Knew

A Maine teen was found murdered in her home last Monday.

According to her obituary, Brooke McLaughlin was just like any other young girl:

“She enjoyed campfires, music, shopping, swimming, animals, four-wheeling, ice fishing, hiking, and hanging out with her friends.”

All things kids her age should be occupying their time with. Unfortunately, unlike most kids her age she’ll never get the opportunity to grow into an adult.

The 14-year-old was found deceased inside her family’s home at roughly 6 p.m. last Monday in Mount Vernon. While the death is being ruled a homicide, specifics regarding exactly how she was killed and the name of the suspected killer are being kept under wraps at the request of the Attorney General. However, a statement released by Maine State Police described her alleged killer as “a male juvenile from Maine” — of only 15 years old. The teen was apprehended by law enforcement on Saturday and is currently being held at Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland until his upcoming court appearances.

A close family friend to the McLaughlins, Donna Walker, told the US Sun that the killer was someone Brooke “trusted and felt safe with.” She explained:

“I only met him a handful of times but I see his [family] on a regular basis. Neither he nor any of his family have shown any type of aggression or anything like that … [he was] polite, well-mannered, respected. We’re all kind of in shock and second-guessing everything now. I would have never dreamt that the kid could possibly do something like this … his [family] has reached out to us and they’re in just as much disbelief as everyone else.”

So it sounds like this kid and his family were pretty close with the McLaughlins — which makes Brooke’s murder all the more shocking.

Disturbingly Donna says the word going around is that the teen may have been acting out over a forgotten birthday! She continued:

“From what I understand … the kiddo that [allegedly] did this, it was their birthday, and his family wasn’t there to properly celebrate with him, so he did something to ensure that the day was never forgotten again.”

That’s absolutely incomprehensible — all over a birthday? Donna added that the theory “hasn’t been confirmed but it’s one of those things being thrown around.” Wild.

The young boy responsible for Brooke’s death also reportedly stole the McLaughlin family’s red 2010 Chevrolet Impala, which was recovered the next day 15-20 miles away in Wayne.

As for Brooke’s mother Becky McLaughlin, the family friend lamented that the poor woman is “frozen in time,” and waiting to wake up from the “nightmare.”

The McLaughlin family held a funeral service for their little girl over the weekend where a reported 500 people came to pay their respects. She was then cremated in a private ceremony on Sunday. “She’ll always be my, my little Spitfire,” said Donna.

“She was full of expressions and was never afraid to use her voice, and that’s what I’m going to do from now on, to keep advocating for her life she’d have done for anyone else.”

Our thoughts are with the McLaughlin family. R.I.P. Brooke.

[Images via Brooke McLaughlin/Robert’s Funeral Home & WMTW-TV/YouTube]