Mother of slain Utah 15-year-old says she heard only screams over phone
When Baleigh Bagshaw, 15, called her mom after arriving at their Salt Lake City home from school on Monday, nothing seemed amiss.
"Every day after school when she got home one of us would call each other," Shauna Bagshaw told KUTV. “She had gotten the mail, and she was telling me about what came in the mail, and then all of a sudden she started screaming. I couldn't hear anything other than her screams."
Then the line went dead.
An attacker brutally killed Baleigh inside her home during the call, Salt Lake City police say. On Wednesday, police arrested Shaun French, 24, a former friend of the family, in Colorado in connection with the case.
“I'm happy that he has been caught, and now I hope that justice can be served," Shauna Bagshaw told KUTV on Thursday.
She told the station that she was aware Baleigh had been in a relationship with French, but did not know it was sexual in nature. Shauna Bagshaw said French had threatened to harm Baleigh and her family if she ended the relationship.
French had moved in with the family in February 2017, when Baleigh was 14 and he was 23. A family member later told police of seeing French having sexual relations with the girl on three occasions, reported The Salt Lake Tribune.
Police have not released details on the slaying. “It was a very violent attack,” Sgt. Brandon Shearer told reporters, according to People.
A former high school classmate of French told KUTV that she was not surprised by the news of his arrest.
"Just the things he said, it just wasn't like normal, everyday human beings,” Lily Aimone told the station. “It just seemed like there was some mental issues there."
Coworkers at a Leatherby’s Family Creamery remembered Baleigh as “sweet,” a hard worker and “a good girl,” reported the Deseret News.
"She's amazing. We love her a lot," Diana Nguyen told the publication.
Shauna Bagshaw has established a GoFundMe account to help pay for Baleigh’s funeral. The page had raised $11,200 of its original $11,000 goal by Thursday morning.
This story was originally published May 10, 2018 at 10:46 AM with the headline "Mother of slain Utah 15-year-old says she heard only screams over phone."