Nevada, March 08: A Classmate and possible ex-boyfriend of Micaela “Mickey” Costanzo was arrested today in connection with her murder after the 16-year-old’s body was found over the weekend in a shallow grave in the desert near the Nevada-Utah border.
The suspect, 18-year-old Kody Patten, is being held without bail in the Elko County Jail on charges of open murder, police said.
Costanzo was last seen leaving her high school in West Wendover, a Nevada community of about 7000, on Thursday.
A widespread search for the teen was suspended on Saturday after human remains were found about five miles (8km) west of West Wendover in a shallow grave. The body was identified as Costanzo on Sunday.
Patten was a senior at the same high school Costanzo attended, and school officials told the Deseret News that the two may have dated.
“They were friends. We do know that they had a past relationship where they did date each other at one point,” West Wendover High School Vice Principal Criag Kyllonen told the paper.
Patten was taken into custody around 2am local time, the paper said. He had reportedly attended a vigil for Costanzo over the weekend and hoped to join the military after high school.
——–Agencies