Mom numb as police look for killer of Michigan girl, 14

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. — Four days after her teen daughter was found murdered on a nearby recreation trail, Jennifer Millsap sat in a plastic white lawn chair outside her Armada Village home Monday, struggling to comprehend what was happening.

The body of 14-year-old April Millsap was found Thursday evening, hours after she disappeared while taking her dog for a walk on the popular Macomb Orchard Trail near her home in northern Macomb County. Joggers found the girl's body in a ditch. It was April's dog, Penny, who led them to her body.

Police said the killing occurred sometime between 6:20 and 8:20 p.m. When April didn't return home from her walk, they said, her mother called police.

"I'm just existing. I'm just numb," the 43-year-old mother said later through a broken porch screen door. She didn't want to discuss her daughter's death — noting funeral arrangements hadn't been made yet — and referred questions to the state police.

Police released a sketch Sunday of a person of interest with whom they want to talk.

Michigan State Police Lt. Michael Shaw said "no one's been ruled out yet" and that police are focusing on three things: a gray box van, occupied by two men; a blue-and-white motorcycle that was spotted on the trail the day April was killed, driven by a thin white male in a black helmet, and the composite sketch of a male who was seen on the trail. It's not known if he is a suspect or a witness.

Shaw also confirmed that police are investigating a text message that was sent from April's phone to her boyfriend's phone. He would not disclose the contents of the text, or say when it was sent.

"We don't know who sent it — if it was April, if it was the killer, or someone else," Shaw said.

The Associated Press has reported that the text read "OMG … I think I'm being kidnapped," though Shaw said that's not accurate.

Shaw said that police are continuing to interview family members and a boyfriend.

The teen's death was ruled a homicide by the Macomb County Medical Examiner's Office. The cause of her death has not been released. Police have said there were no gunshot or stab wounds.

The case has triggered widespread publicity, with police now receiving more than 450 tips in the case. It has stunned people in the usually quiet and quaint village of 1,730 people.

"My heart just absolutely breaks for the family," said Chrysler retiree Susan Paull, an Armada resident whose grandson went to school with April and frequently rides his bike on the trail.

"It's devastated this little town," Paull said, adding, "It's going to change a lot of people's habits and attitudes, and we're not going to be so carefree now."

Melinda and Mike Burczycki, whose two teen sons were riding their bikes on the trail the day April was killed, are also a little on edge now. They still feel their community is safe, they said. But Melinda Burcyzyki noted, "Now we start to wonder" about possible crime.

Christy Majewski, who works at the Armada Pharmacy along Main Street, said everyone in town is talking about the case. She said folks are both saddened and anxious "to figure out who did it."

"Everyone wants to know, 'Was this random?' " Majewski said.

Three of April's classmates from Armada Middle School don't think it was, though they have no clue who did it or why. The three teen girls strolled down Main Street on Monday, wearing red clothes to match April's hair, which she often dyed red.

They described April as a very nice girl who made funny faces, loved shopping and enjoyed trying to make people laugh when they were down.

April's death, they said, just doesn't seem real. "We can't believe that she's gone," one of them said.