A 13-year-old cheerleader, Savannah Copeland, was allegedly stabbed to death by a 15-year-old boy using a pocket knife and left near a dirt road. Prosecutors are seeking to have the suspect tried as an adult, according to Fox News.
The incident reportedly occurred around midnight on October 22, when Savannah met the 15-year-old. He allegedly attacked her before fleeing the scene, as detailed in a petition released by Knox County court on October 24. The nature of their relationship or how they knew each other remains unclear.
Michael Copeland, Savannah's father, told 8WVLT that his daughter had been missing in Powell for several hours. Using her cellphone information, he tracked her location and discovered her body.
The 15-year-old suspect was arrested shortly after the incident and charged with second-degree murder, according to the Knox County Sheriff's Office. Despite the suspect's age, a judge allowed his name to be released two days later and scheduled a hearing for January 14 to determine if he will face trial as an adult, as reported by 6 News. Fox News Digital has chosen not to identify the suspect until a decision is made.
Savannah's name was not included in the sheriff's office's statement but was confirmed by her family through a GoFundMe page, an online obituary, her cheerleading team, and various news outlets.
"I think it was a lack of compassion and a lack of empathy that drove the hand that took my daughter's life," the victim's father told 8 WVLT.
Copeland, a cheerleader with Powell Mac Cheerleading, was a talented student who also excelled in karate and gymnastics, her family wrote in her obituary. Her father told 8WVLT the teen had "spunkiness, eagerness and ... a go-getter attitude."
