A Tennessee missing person case quickly turned into a homicide prosecution, resulting in the deaths of one youngster and the imprisonment of another.
According to law enforcement, the formal investigatory shift in the Trinity Bostic case was almost inevitable.
After going missing for less than a week, the 17-year-old girl’s body was found early last week by a state Department of Transportation employee picking up rubbish along a state route close to the woods.
The victim was from the small town of Lafayette and was described in tributes to her obituary as kind, compassionate, and vivacious. According to authorities, the 17-year-old teenager who is accused of killing her is a resident of Westmoreland, a nearby, even smaller town. The identity of the suspect is yet unknown.
On the evening of June 29, the Macon County Sheriff’s Office received a report about Trinity going missing as a runaway. Her possible locations were investigated during interviews with friends and family.
Sheriff Joseph Wilburn stated in a press statement on Friday, “Trinity’s cell phone number was obtained, and immediately we began to trace her location which led to areas outside of Macon County. We notified agencies in Sumner County where we traced her location. Attempts to locate were unsuccessful.”
According to authorities, Trinity’s body was discovered on July 3 next to the wood line of State Route 386, close to the intersection of New Shackle Island Road and Vietnam Veterans Boulevard in Hendersonville, a medium-sized city about 50 miles southeast of Lafayette.
After the youngster was taken into custody on July 6, the Hendersonville Police Department charged him with one count of first-degree murder.
The police department issued a news release twice, saying, “In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation, no other details surrounding this incident will be released at this time.”
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Authorities claim that an autopsy report is still waiting and that the cause of death of the victim has not yet been determined.
At this time, the defendant is being held in Sumner County. Trinity would have attended Macon County High School as a senior. The upcoming graduating class of the school responded to the tragedy by creating a GoFundMe page for the victim’s family.
Trinity enjoyed fashion and music. She was employed at Walmart at the time of her death. According to the TV station, she frequently assisted her father when they worked on cars together at his auto shop.
“She had a lot of energy,” her friend, Khloe Redfield, 14, stated to WZTV. “She would always be laughing on the phone, on FaceTime. She had the most amazing laugh you could ever imagine.”
Tasha Calcote, Trinity’s half-sister, chastised police enforcement for not posting the victim’s photo on social media sooner.
Calcote told, “It could have reached so many more (people) had it been put out immediately.” She is now left contemplating the possibilities.
