13-Year-Old Girl Found Dead At Manchester Apartment Complex

MANCHESTER, CT — A 13-year-old girl reported missing Thursday night was found dead at a Manchester apartment complex Friday morning, police said.

The girl was reported missing about 8:30 p.m. Thursday, police said. She was found unresponsive about 12 hours later in what police described as a common area of a basement at 40 Olcott St. — the South Adams apartment complex. She was determined to be dead at the scene, police said.

Manchester Police Department spokesman Lt. Ryan Shea said at a Friday news conference that an investigation is ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the girl's disappearance and death.

The state police Major Crimes Unit, Manchester Police Detective Unit and the state's attorney's office are assisting Manchester police in the case, Shea said.

As of Friday morning, the case was being investigated as an untimely death and not as a homicide, Shea said. Late Friday afternoon, she was identified as Zaniya Wright of Manchester. Over the weekend, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner declared her death a homicide by strangulation.

No arrests have been made in the case, Shea said.

"We're doing everything we can to make sure everything is in order to determine what happened," Shea said. "The death of a 13-year-old affects the entire community. This is tragic situation for our community."

Surveillance video is being reviewed — and sought — in the area, Shea said. Anyone with information on the case can call Manchester police at 860-645-5500, Shea said.

The Manchester public school system released a statement on Wright's death late Friday:

"Dear Manchester Public Schools Community,

Earlier today we were made aware of the tragic death of Zaniya Wright, a seventh-grader at Illing Middle School. I want to offer our most sincere condolences and prayers to Zaniya’s family, her many friends, and people throughout our community traumatized by this terrible news. For all those who knew Zaniya both at school and in the community, this is a heartbreaking and incredibly sad day. We will have counselors available at Illing from 5-7 p.m. tonight and again from 9 a.m. to noon tomorrow to support students who want an adult to speak with or even just a safe space to grieve. In times like this it is important to be able to lean on and take care of one another and the district is committed to ensuring all members of our school community are supported. I know you join me in keeping Zaniya, her family, and all those who loved her in your thoughts and prayers."