CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Investigators finally confirm teenager found dead along Highway 509 was homicide victim

Three and a half months after the discovery of a 16-year-old girl’s body along Highway 509 south of West Seattle, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office has released results of her autopsy. The most recent media-information list released by the KCME says Keyaleas Brewer died of “asphyxia due to strangulation” and ruled her death a homicide. When we last checked with the King County Sheriff’s Office a few weeks ago, they repeated only that it remained an “open and active case.” Back in October, as reported here, they asked for video from anyone driving on southbound 509 between the 1st Avenue South Bridge and South 112th between 5 am and 7 am on Friday, October 7th – the morning Ms. Brewer was found dead – and welcomed anonymous tips via p3tips,com or info via email at mcutips@kingcounty.gov – refer to case #C22033455.

Nw mama January 24, 2023 (6:42 am)

Rest in peace my dear. Let’s find the bastard who did this.

Barb January 24, 2023 (9:30 am)

YES!!!! Please find who did this……

nopenopety January 24, 2023 (6:44 am)

KCSD should have the funds to run DNA, I would hope he wasnt smart enough to clean under her nails ….

KP January 24, 2023 (7:10 am)

My goodness. Praying for her loved ones. ❤️

Seattlite January 24, 2023 (8:26 am)

A gruesome and tragic way to die. RIP.

JL January 24, 2023 (8:31 am)

So wrong, beyond sad

Mike January 24, 2023 (8:40 am)

So damn sad.

cxq5 January 24, 2023 (9:24 am)

We need to find out who did this.

Barb January 24, 2023 (9:34 am)

This message is to law enforcement. PLEASE DON’T GIVE UP, FIND WHO DID THIS.I didn’t know her but her looks remind me so much of my granddaughter grown up. She was only 16 and had a full life ahead of her. Please find who did this.Rest in peace baby girl.

Scubafrog January 24, 2023 (10:16 am)

May she rest in paradise, far too young – she was robbed. I feel such deep sorrow, and hope law enforcement’s working with the FBI to find the person capable of doing something so heinous and barbaric, in order to remove them from society forever.

H January 24, 2023 (10:35 am)

At what day is this and has the person been identified and the family notified?

WSB January 24, 2023 (1:31 pm)

Sorry, the date is noted in the photo caption but I neglected to link our original coverage. She was found the morning of October 7th and publicly identified later in October – those notifications do not happen unless next of kin has been notified first.

Emily January 24, 2023 (11:19 am)

This is beyond devastating. I cannot even imagine what that poor girl went through and the pain her family has endured. The family has a GoFundMe for her, donate if you can: https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-loving-memory-of-keyaleas-nunu-brewer

Gabby January 27, 2023 (2:15 pm)

Thank you for updating us. I don’t understand how it took three months to determine this was a homicide. I sincerely hope this didn’t slow the investigation down. Their ask for dash cam footage might have gotten more urgent attention had they been a bit more vocal that this was a probable homicide back in October. I know KCSO has plenty of experience investigating homicides and I’m sure they’re doing all the evidence processing we hope they are, but still the lack of public communication on this is concerning. What a tragic loss of a beautiful young life.

WSB January 27, 2023 (2:49 pm)

The dash-cam request IS from October – I just repeated it in this story. Investigators with KCSO have been very tight-lipped about their work so I don’t know whether the KCME actually took this long to rule it a homicide, or just didn’t make that information public until now.

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