LIVERMORE: Police, family hope for tips in teen girl's 'horrific' slaying

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 1/24/6 | Demian Bulwa

[SmithL]

Quiet 15-year-old preferred close pals, kept own Web site.

Kayla Reed was quiet and spent time with just a few close friends. The 15-year-old high school freshman lived in a Livermore townhouse with her mother, and the two fought often, friends and neighbors say.

She feared acne, liked hip-hop music, and talked about becoming a cosmetologist. After school, she took a bus to a small library branch near her home to access her personal Web page, where she called herself "hotfrenchchic!"

But as Kayla's family members and friends talked about her life on Monday, they said they couldn't fathom her death.

"Kayla was a beautiful, sweet girl, and we're devastated by this horrific crime that's been committed," Sandy Sheets, Kayla's aunt, said Monday from her home in Portland, Ore. "Our only goal at this moment in time is to work with police to find the monster that committed this crime."

Authorities say Kayla's decomposing body was found Jan. 10 in a San Joaquin County canal -- near isolated roads leading to ranches and industrial plants off Interstate 5 -- more than a month after her mother reported her missing.

Police, who initially considered Kayla a runaway, believe she was killed about the time she disappeared, although they have not determined how or why. Livermore Police Chief Steve Krull said Monday that detectives had not identified any suspects.

"I'm hopeful that with the community's help, and some tough police work, we'll identify who it was and how it happened," Krull said.

Livermore investigators obtained a court order late last month seeking information from Kayla's Web page on the popular MySpace.com site, and from her Yahoo e-mail account, records show. Kayla had accessed her page on Dec. 2,

[SmithL]

Rest in Peace

[mtbopfuyn]

So, they're thinking her murder is due to something on her web site? It is disconcerting she had to out of the home to access it.

[SmithL]

I don't know what the police think, but the press has been talking about MySpace.com since she disappeared back in December.

[Concho]

This website keeps popping up with all the wayward children.........

[pabianice]

Anyone else notice the direct statistical relationship between gun-banning Blue cities and the number of hideous murders?

[<1/1,000,000th%]

"It was late, and she hadn't washed off her makeup or put her pajamas on," Angel Sheets said. "I told her before I went to bed, 'I hope you don't think you're going to meet a friend.' "

"They had an argument that night and Kayla left, and that's all we know," Sandy Sheets said.

Where's dad?

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

A 15 year old, with her own hotfrenchchic, web page at the local library? Well, I think I know how this scenario played out, that web site was not attracting seminary students.