Instead of assisting with college prep, a Baltimore family is mourning the loss of high school student Arensha Bowers, 16.
According to the Baltimore Sun, the 11th-grade student was brutally murdered earlier this month by two men who are said to be members of the Bloods gang.
Investigators say that Adonay Dixon, 23, and John Childs, 20, preyed on Bowers after meeting her at a party in hopes of stealing from her grandmother, Sandra Bowers, with whom she lived. Apparently, the men were under the impression that the girl’s grandmother was wealthy.
“They believed the house would contain items of value because Arnesha’s grandmother has a job and owned two vehicles, and planned to break into the property and steal any valuables,” police wrote in a report.
Bowers’ grandmother picked her up from an apartment building where Dixon and Childs lived on Saturday, June 6. Childs told investigators that Dixon followed the pair to their residence. He later returned with Childs when he knew that the teen’s grandmother was at work.
The two entered the residence through a basement window, and police say that Dixon planned to place Bowers in a chokehold if she woke up during the burglary. Unfortunately, when the teen woke up and discovered the pair in her home, things took a deadly turn. Childs says that Dixon dragged Bowers into the basement and stayed there for 30 minutes. He went on to tell police that his accomplice later emerged from the basement and said that they needed to leave because the house was on fire. The duo got away with $40, an iPad and a laptop. The teen had been raped, strangled and set on fire. Thanks to tips from the community and evidence collected at the scene, police were able to track down the suspects.
“They have ripped my heart out and turned my world upside down. She was a bright light and now she will forever shine in my heart,” Bowers’ grieving mother told WJZ.
Arnesha had just taken her SATs and was exploring college options.
