Police: Lauren Daverin Identified As Teen Found Dead In Rockville Centre
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A summer night at a Long Island park ended in the slaying of an 18-year-old girl, and her killer is still on the loose.
Lauren Daverin, 18, of Lynbrook, was found around 10 p.m. Thursday in Rockville Centre, Nassau County police said. She was found naked and beaten on a footbridge.
Friends gathered Friday on the blood-stained bridge where Daverin was found, CBS 2's Carolyn Gusoff reported.
Police: Lauren Daverin Identified As Teen Found Dead In Rockville Centre
David Paiz and his brother, Eric, found the body and recognized it as Daverin's.
The brothers had been hanging out with Daverin hours earlier, Gusoff reported.
"I left her to hang out with other people, then I came back to see if she was still here," David Paiz said. "I came back and saw her dead body so I called 911."
"She was completely naked, and she only had her boots on, and she was just thrown there," Eric Paiz told Gusoff
Daverin's friends said she had spent the evening in the Rockville Centre park where Sunrise Highway and Merrick Road share a pedestrian overpass called the Mill Pond footbridge -- used more often as a teen hangout.
Friends said there was alcohol but no hostilities, Gusoff reported.
"I'm very upset," said friend Emily Westermann. "She was a really nice person, one of the best people."
"She was a little rough around the edges, but all around a great person," Aaron Holod told CBS 2's Lou Young. "Great to be around. Always positive energy when you were around here."
"Lauren, she's a wild girl," said another friend, Laura Barabash. "She's real fun. She's loud."
Flowers were left at the crime scene along with candles in memory of a young life that ended violently.
A Facebook page has been set up for friends to share condolences.
Neighbors told CBS 880's Sophia Hall that Rockville Centre is a very safe area and that they had never seen any problems any on the bridge.
Daverin's body was taken to the Nassau County Medical Examiner's Office to determine the cause of death.
Police: Lauren Daverin Identified As Teen Found Dead In Rockville Centre
Nassau police are investigating the homicide but have said nothing about the cause of death and motive.
Anyone with information is asked to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
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