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Left inset: Cameron Cubel (Hernando County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Abbriella Elliot (GoFundMe). Background: The area near the Cypress Lake Preserve in Hernando County, Fla., where Abbriella Elliot’s body was found (WTSP/YouTube).
A “bubbly” and “outgoing” 16-year-old girl in Florida was allegedly murdered by her ex-boyfriend, with the teenage suspect using an “edged weapon” to hack the young victim to death — after she celebrated her birthday two weeks earlier — before dumping her body in a nature preserve, cops say.
Cameron Cubel, 16, of Hernando County, was indicted last week by a grand jury on a charge of first-degree murder for the “tragic” slaying of Abbriella Elliott sometime before she was found at the Cypress Lake Preserve on March 27, according to the state attorney’s office.
“Cubel unlawfully and from a premeditated design murdered Abbriella Faye Elliott, by inflicting multiple sharp force injuries causing her to die,” prosecutors said in an April 17 press release. “Cubel remains in custody on no-bond status in a juvenile detention facility. He will later be transferred to Hernando County and tried as an adult.”
Police officials and State Attorney Bill Gladson spoke at a press conference in March after Elliott’s body was found and said the former couple appeared to be working through issues they had after breaking up at some point.
“We do have evidence of what I think could be described as somewhat of a dysfunctional relationship,” Gladson said, according to local NBC affiliate WFLA.
“We found out from one witness that this young lady left her home early in the morning. She went to go meet an individual who was likely the person who killed her,” added Sheriff Al Nienhuis. “There was a lot of passion and a lot of violence involved in the particular death so we were relatively confident that it wasn’t a random act,” he said. “It was nothing short of very violent.”
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Elliott’s family, who also spoke at the presser last month, said she was a “a bubbly outgoing smart beautiful little girl” who celebrated her birthday two weeks before she was killed. “She was always smiling,” a GoFundMe description says.
“It’s a heartbreaking case,” Gladson told reporters. “Of course anytime there’s a homicide, it’s difficult, it’s terrible, it’s tragic; but when it happens to a child, and that’s what we’re talking about, a 16-year-old girl, it’s particularly tragic.”
The decision to charge Cubel as an adult was an easy one, according to the state attorney. “When you’re a juvenile and you commit an adult crime you get charged as an adult,” Gladson said, per WFLA.
Describing ways parents can watch out for similar situations, Gladson urged them to be more “involved” in their kids’ daily lives.
“If you see them going down the path where there’s a boyfriend that’s extremely jealous, or possessive, or snooping around or something like that, be aware of that,” the prosecutor said.
Cubel faces a possible sentence of life in prison if convicted.
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