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A teenage boy has been arrested on suspicion of raping and murdering a 13-year-old girl.
The schoolgirl was found ‘unresponsive’ at a house in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, on Monday and died in hospital the next day.
Detectives have launched an investigation into the girl’s death which is being treated as ‘unexplained’.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: ‘The 16-year-old boy from Huddersfield was arrested on suspicion of murder and rape in connection with the death of the girl in hospital in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
‘The girl’s death is currently being treated by West Yorkshire Police as unexplained, and police enquiries are underway to determine the circumstances.’
The police investigation began after the ambulance service was called to a house in Sheepridge Road, Huddersfield, on Monday (August 11) night, to a report that a girl was unresponsive.
The spokesperson continued: ‘The 13-year-old was taken to hospital where she sadly died in the early hours of Tuesday morning.’
Police said that the 16-year-old boy has also been arrested on suspicion of another offence of rape relating to a 16-year-old girl from an ‘unrelated incident elsewhere in Kirklees’.
Pictured is Sheepridge Road, Huddersfield, where emergency crews were called to on Monday
A postmortem examination into the teenage girl’s death conducted yesterday concluded that her death was unexplained pending further investigation.
DCI Stacey Atkinson of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, said ‘We are continuing to conduct a number of enquiries today following the death of a 13-year-old girl following an incident at a flat on Sheepridge Road.
‘A post mortem was not able to determine how she died, and we continue to treat her death as unexplained at this time, pending more enquiries.
‘Those enquiries are complex and are likely to be lengthy as we work to fully understand the circumstances of the girl’s death. Specially trained officers are supporting her family at this time.’
A resident of the modern stone housing development on the quit cul de sac street described the death as ‘absolutely disgusting’ and ‘terrible’, while another local added: ‘I feel so sorry for the poor girl’s family. Thirteen is no age to die.’
The police cordon on the street has now been lifted, while a police car remains parked outside the property.
Local resident Brian Davies, 71, said: ‘I saw all the police activity on Monday and it looked serious.
‘I’ve only heard that some poor lass has been killed in the flat.
‘We’ve been chatting in the streets and nobody is sure who was living in those flats. Nobody has really seen much coming and going.
‘But, then again, you wouldn’t because it is behind a gate and is more private than the rest of the street.’
