What to Know
- Nisa Mickens was found dead with at least 10 injuries in a roadway in Brentwood Tuesday night
- A body matching the description of her friend, Kayla Cuevas, was located less than 24 hours later in a wooded area a few hundred feet away
- Authorities haven't offered a motive, but are not ruling out gang violence
Authorities said Thursday that there are "strong indications" that gang members killed a pair of teenaged best friends -- one 16, the other about to celebrate her 16th birthday -- and left their beaten and slashed bodies just a few hundred feet apart on Long Island.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini said Thursday that gang involvement is suspected in the killings of 15-year-old Nisa Mickens and 16-year-old Kayla Cuevas. The two had been hanging out Tuesday near Stahley Street in Brentwood when they were apparently attacked, authorities say.
Mickens' body was found in the street that night, beaten with at least 10 injuries, including cuts and head trauma. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her friend, Cuevas, was reported missing, but her body was found about 20 hours later a few hundred yards from where Mickens was discovered.
A neighbor had called 911 to report Cuevas' near a fence and tree in their yard.
Medical examiners ruled that both Mickens and Cuevas died from homicidal assaults.
"The person or people who committed this crime are severely depraved... you have to have no regard for human life," said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Tim Sini.
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He added, "these murders show a level of brutality that is close to unmatched....these are some of the worst wounds I've seen."
Sini said Thursday that the two killings appear to be connected to gangs and that the perpetrator or perpetrators were gang members. But he didn't reveal any further motive in the case.
Sini said Thursday they're working with federal authorities and have identified a group of known gang members to target in the investigation. He said that more cops would be put in the area to ensure the safety of the community.
The mothers of the girls held each other Wednesday night on the roadway where Mickens' body was found, the pouring rain masking the tears on their faces as they wept.
"We're all out here for our babies," said Elizabeth Alvarado, Mickens' mother. "It has to stop. The killings are going to stop. What's it going to take?"
As thunder clapped, Alvarado said, "She's crying over us. She's washing everyone's sins away."
On what would have been Mickens' birthday, her parents left the gifts she'd asked for, a basketball and balloons, on the spot where her body was found.
Her father was at the scene sobbing and moaning at a small vigil set up at the scene. Her grandfather, Robert Mickens, was also at the scene.
"She didn't deserve this," he said. "Neither one of them deserved this."
On Thursday, the principal at Brentwood High School, which both girls attended, held a moment of silence for the slain teenagers. A few classmates stopped walking and held hands. Many described the mood of the student body as sad and in a state of disbelief.
A $5,000 reward is being offered for information in the killings, Sini said.
Anyone with information on the girls' deaths should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.
