Manchester police investigate death of missing young teen

Apartment complex on 40 Olcott Street
Manchester Police arrived at South Adams Apartments on 40 Olcott Street at about 8:30 a.m. Friday where the 13-year-old girl's body was located. Photo credit Brian Forster/WTIC

MANCHESTER, Conn. (AP) _ A 13-year-old Manchester girl found dead in an apartment building on Friday was strangled and her death is being considered a homicide, according to the state's medical examiner's office.

Zaniya Wright was found Friday morning in a common area of an apartment complex, about 12 hours after her mother reported her missing. Medical examiners said Saturday that Wright died from compression of the neck.

Police told  the Hartford Courant they had identified a juvenile who was with Wright before she went missing as a person of interest, but hadn't made any arrests. Wright's mother had left her in the care of a friend who lives in the apartment building and has a teenage son, the newspaper reported.

Wright's grandmother told the newspaper her granddaughter was a quiet girl who had been bullied at school.

Counselors were at Illing Middle School Friday and Saturday to help grieving students.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Brian Forster/WTIC