In the summer of what should have been the start of her high school journey, the life of 15-year-old Kyelonna Meya Smiley was tragically cut short. The young female had been reported missing by her mother, Fiyonna Austin, after she left her Phoenix home on August 1, 2025, supposedly to stay with a friend. When Monday arrived and Kyelonna had not returned, her mother's concern grew, prompting her to file a missing person's report.
The family's worst fears were realized two days later when they learned the devastating news of her death.
On the morning of August 4, Phoenix police were called to a senior living community near 77th Avenue and Encanto Boulevard. Inside one of the apartments, they discovered Kyelonna's body; she had been shot to death. The location was perplexing to her family, as they had no connection to the apartment complex and were unaware of any reason for her to be there. The promising young girl, who was on the cusp of beginning her freshman year at Trevor G. Browne High School, had her future stolen in a place she seemingly had no ties to.
The investigation into the homicide led detectives to identify 67-year-old Nohe Prado Morelia, a resident of the senior living community, as the suspect in Kyelonna's murder. However, before any arrest could be made, the case took another dark turn. Four days after Kyelonna's body was found, on August 8, Morelia was discovered dead at a business near 24th Street and Van Buren. His death was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
With the death of the sole suspect, the Phoenix Police Department concluded their investigation into Kyelonna's murder. They established that Morelia was responsible for her death and that no other individuals were believed to be involved. The case was officially closed, but for Kyelonna's heartbroken mother, the closure brought no peace. The motive behind the murder remains a painful, unanswered question, leaving a grieving family to wonder why their daughter's life was so senselessly taken. Austin expressed profound sadness and frustration, stating that the man who murdered her daughter had taken the coward's way out, leaving them without the answers they desperately sought.
