Texas teen died of ‘homicidal violence,’ medical examiner rules
The Bedford teenager who was found dead at an Arlington landfill in June died of “homicidal violence,” the Tarrant County medical examiner has ruled.
Kaytlynn Cargill, 14, was found June 21, two days after she went missing from her family’s apartment complex in Bedford.
No arrests have been made in Kaytlynn’s death, and police have not revealed whether a suspect or person of interest has been identified, according to a news release Thursday.
The news release acknowledged that the homicide ruling “may raise concerns with the public for their safety,” but that “based on the information we have at this time, there is no threat to the public.”
Officers immediately began searching for the girl after she was reported missing about 8:15 p.m. on June 19 at the Oak Creek West Apartments, near Pennington Field in Bedford, where she lived with her parents.
Kaytlynn had taken her dog on a walk about 6:20 p.m. and was last seen at the apartment, where she tied up her dog in the dog park. A friend said Kaytlynn asked others to watch the dog for a minute but she never returned.
Investigators had interviewed her friends, but “the kids she was with have been giving us different stories,” Lt. David Smith said at the time.
Gibson had said that there was no evidence to suggest that Kaytlynn had been abducted or was in danger after she went missing, so an Amber Alert was not issued.
At the time, Gibson also said, “Our information ... does not indicate a further risk to our community.”
Additional details about Kaytlynn’s cause of death were not available Thursday. Her autopsy report has not been completed, a medical examiner spokesperson said.
Kaytlynn’s body was found in the commercial dumping area of the Arlington landfill at North Collins Street and Mosier Valley Road.
The city of Arlington and its residents are the primary users of the landfill, which is operated by Republic Services. Arlington contracts to receive waste from Bedford, Euless, Hurst, Grapevine, Mansfield, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills and Southlake.
In June, Gibson said investigators were looking at the trash in the area where Kaytlynn was found to determine its origin.
‘She was this carefree girl’
After news of Kaytlynn’s death spread, friends gathered at Central Junior High in Bedford, where Kaytlynn had just completed seventh grade.
One of Kaytlynn’s teachers spoke glowingly of her intelligence, and Kaytlynn’s friend Bayleigh Wagoner agreed.
“You could tell in class she was super smart,” Bayleigh said. “She’d always be the first one to answer a question.”
She was funny, too, said Bayleigh, who was in the school band with Kaytlynn.
“She was this carefree girl,” Bayleigh said. “She could make you laugh whenever. If she saw that you were sad or if you didn’t have a smile on your face, she would start telling jokes just to make you smile. ... I just can’t believe this happened to her.”
This report contains information from the Star-Telegram archives
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