SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – For the first time, we’re hearing from the mother of a 17-year-old girl who was found murdered in Hendersonville.
In June, Trinity Bostic went missing from Macon County. Four days later, her body was found in Hendersonville with a bullet wound in her face.
Trinity’s mother told NewsNation affiliate WKRN that the suspected killer was an ex-boyfriend. And while she wants justice in this case, she also wishes an AMBER Alert was issued for her daughter.
“My daughter was an angel. She was just one of a kind,” Shelby May, Trinity Bostic’s mother said.
May Facetimed News 2 next to her daughter’s grave. She told News 2 she goes there every day. “It kind of helps me face the reality that she is not coming back anymore.”
On June 29, Trinity went missing from her home in Macon County. Police then entered her as a missing person and a BOLO was sent out.
Four days later, a subcontractor with the Tennessee Department of Transportation was picking up trash and found her remains in the woods off of Vietnam Veterans Boulevard near New Shackle Road. Trinity was found with a bullet wound in her face.
“We had to bury her with a closed casket we couldn’t even say goodbye to her. We all just kissed the casket that’s what hurts the most too that I couldn’t see my little girl’s face for the last time,” May said.
Hendersonville police named Fernando Perales Mejia as the suspected killer. Police were able to trace Mejia and Trinity’s phone records together on the day she went missing. Those same records also show their locations around the area where Trinity was found. During a search, they found a “go bag” of Trinity’s belongings in Mejia’s home and a gun in his car.
“They never issued an AMBER alert on her. After 24 hours they still didn’t after 48 hours they still didn’t,” May said.
A spokesperson for the Macon County Sheriff’s Office said TBI issues AMBER Alerts and there is a long list of criteria that needs to be met. The sheriff’s office said AMBER Alerts are not issued for runaway teenagers. However, Shelby feels that should be changed and she doesn’t believe that Trinity was running away.
“I think if it isn’t normal for a kid to be gone…if you even have a feeling, then an AMBER Alert should be issued for all children I don’t care what age,” May said.
A Sumner County judge has ruled to try Mejia as an adult.
The next scheduled court date is set for September 9. Trinity’s mom is planning a benefit concert for her daughter in the fall. A GoFundMe for her family can be found here.