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Teen Arrested In Sexual Assault And Murder Of 10-Year-Old Alaska Girl
“We are in deep grief at the horrific death of our child and the events of the last week,” the parents of Ida "Girlie" Aguchak said in a statement shortly after the arrest. “No parent should have to endure this or bury their children first.”
An 18-year-old man has been charged with sexually abusing and killing a 10-year-old Alaskan girl, whose body was found on the outskirts of town just a day after she disappeared.
Jordan T. Mark, 18, is now facing charges of first-degree murder, first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, kidnapping and tampering with physical evidence in the death of Ida “Girlie” Aguchak, according to a statement from the Alaska Department of Public Safety, State Troopers.
Mark was arrested Monday after an “intensive investigation” into the young girl’s death, police said.
Aguchak failed to return home to her Quinhagak home on March 15, according to a post in an Facebook fundraiser launched for the family by relative Elizabeth Lynn. The next day, the young girl’s body was discovered on the outskirts of town after a community-wide search had been initiated to find the missing 10-year-old.
“It is with great pain that we share that sometime between the late evening of March 15 and early hours of March 16, Girlie was abducted by someone in our community, murdered and then thrown in a dumpster,” the post said. “We are in shock at the evil brutality and heartlessness of this.”
Tim DeSpain, of the Alaska Department of Public Safety’s public information office, declined to release further details of the case to Oxygen.com, including whether a cause of death had been determined or whether Mark and the young girl had any prior relationship.
After Mark’s arrest, Aguchak’s parents, Betty Williams and Luther Aguchak, made a statement posted to the same Facebook fundraiser site.
“We are in deep grief at the horrific death of our child and the events of last week,” they said. “No parent should have to endure this or bury their children first. Especially that we must bury our child whose death was caused by another in the community.”
Her parents asked for the community to not only pray for their own family but also the suspect’s family.
“As the truth has been revealed about her death and who caused it, we feel more heartbreak, not only for ourselves, but for our daughter and the family of Jordan Mark,” they said. “As parents, we love our children and only want the best for them. Please pray for our other children who have lost their little sister. This is difficult for them too.”
Lynn told Oxygen.com that she is Betty Williams’ cousin and that the girl’s parents had reviewed and approved the statement on the site.
The family has asked for privacy but also made a special request in honor of their daughter’s generous spirit, asking that people “help someone in need” in their own communities.
“For someone so little, she had a big heart that truly cared for others,” her parents said in the statement.
About 700 people reside in the small community of Quinhagak, according to The Anchorage Daily News.
