Maggie Long Story : A Hate Victim Was Burned Alive In 2017

Maggie Long Story

The FBI’s investigations revealed that the girl, of Asian origin, was killed with hatred.

USA – of what guilt she was killed ? A heinous crime motivated by hate, this is how the FBI investigation concluded, after 4 years of the crime that makes the body shudder.

The FBI said in a statement Monday to Denver news station KCNC-TV that it was looking into the death of 17-year-old Maggie Long as a “hate crime matter.”

Long’s death was ruled a homicide, and authorities later released composite sketches of at least three men they believed were involved in her death. No arrests have been made.

The FBI did not provide any information about why agents are looking at the possibility of a hate crime and did not immediately respond to telephone and email messages from The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The FBI’s hate crime investigation into Long’s death comes as a series of attacks have targeted Asian Americans nationwide since the coronavirus took hold in the U.S. after surfacing in China.

Maggie Long Story

The body of the 17-year-old girl was found inside her family’s home in December 2017 in Billy, a mountainous area about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southwest of Denver. A fire broke out after a report of disturbances.

Investigators believe there was altercation between Long and her attackers before the fire started. Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw has said that Long was “purposely set on fire and burned alive.”

A Beretta handgun, an AK-47-style rifle, 2,000 rounds of ammunition, a safe and jade figurines were stolen from the home, authorities have said.

Maggie Long family

Long’s sisters, Lynna and Connie Long, said they did not notice any overt Asian discrimination when they lived in the community.

Lynna Long said she hoped the shift in the investigation’s focus would encourage people to reconsider interactions they may have had around the time her sister was killed and if anyone expressed bias toward Asian Americans.

“This is an angle that wasn’t looked into in the past, and at this point, it is no stone left unturned. Looking at the extent of violence in this crime, that is certainly an angle to look more closely into,” she said.

Nearly two years after Long’s murder, her family decided to sell the home in Park County.

In October 2019, Realtor Benjamin Cheang told Denver7 that what happened to the teen was so traumatic that her parents couldn’t bring themselves to step foot in the house again.

“They worked hard. They worked in the restaurant all their lives and they built everything from scratch,” Cheang said at the time. “They are a beautiful family. It is such a tragedy that happened.”

Broderick Hartmann, a friend of Long’s, said Tuesday that he still feels like the community is “getting half the story, at most.”

Maggie Long Story : A Hate Victim Was Burned Alive In 2017